Tonight I wanna do some drinkin'
by thegirl20
Summary: Jane and Maura's life, through the beverages they drink.
1. Coffee

"Coffee."

It was the first word spoken between them. Not a question. Not an offer. A statement.

Jane Rizzoli had worked with a few Medical Examiners in her time and in her experience, unfailingly, they took their coffee hot and black. And by the gallon. Jane supposed it was because they spent their time in cold, dimly lit morgues in basements. So, when she'd been informed that the new Chief ME would be working her latest case, Jane decided to get them on side early. She didn't expect to _like_ the new guy. MEs were a strange bunch. But, to make her life easier, she knew it was best to make a friend rather than a foe of the new Chief.

They'd been called in the middle of the night to an alleyway in a not very nice area of town. It was late and it had been raining. Jane figured that the coffee she'd picked up from the nearby all night diner would sound like manna from heaven right about now. When the hooded figure looked up at her and smiled, Jane physically took a step backwards. Medical Examiners were not supposed to look like _that_. Reddish gold curls cascaded out of the hood when she pushed it back. A fierce intelligence shone out of hazel eyes that were perfectly made-up in that way that Jane could never seem to achieve without making herself look like a drag-queen. She smiled in return. She was about to introduce herself, but was beaten to it.

"Well, I don't like to make assumptions, but judging by the shield on your hip, and the fact that there is only one female detective in the Boston Police homicide department, I'm going to go ahead and presume that you are Detective Rizzoli."

The woman stood up and stepped over the body of the gang-banger with the knife sticking out of his chest. She was wearing the highest god-damned heels that Jane had ever seen. To a crime scene. She held out a latex covered hand.

"Dr Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner." Jane glanced at the bloody glove and back up, quirking an eyebrow. The Doctor realised her mistake and peeled the glove off, holding her hand out again with a sheepish grin. Jane shifted both coffee cups awkwardly into one hand and shook Maura's with the other.

"Nice to meet you, Dr Isles." When Maura let go, Jane once again held out the paper cup. "Coffee."

"Thank you, Detective, that was most kind of you." She took the cup and sniffed its contents, her nose wrinkling in displeasure. She mumbled something under her breath and Jane felt her hackles rise because it sounded a whole lot like 'bitch'.

"What did you just say?"

"I said 'bitumen'. It's a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch. Perhaps you know it as asphalt. Anyway, that is what this coffee resembles."

Jane's mouth dropped open in shock. Her brain was sifting through what had just been said, trying to decide whether or not she'd been insulted. Either because the coffee she'd bought and paid for had just been compared to a substance used to surface roads, or because this chick assumed she was stupid and didn't know what bitumen was. She _hadn't_known what bitumen was, but she could have. And if she'd just called it asphalt in the first place, there would have been no confusion.

"Listen, this place ain't exactly the Champs-Elysees, so I'm sorry if you were expecting a café au lait and a croissant. It's hot and it's strong. And it's all we got, Doc."

"Au contraire." Jane watched as Maura peeled off her other glove and took Jane's coffee out of her hand and walked away, ducking under the crime scene tape that a uni held up for her. She poured the contents of both cups down a nearby drain and returned the same way she'd come now with two empty cups. Jane was too curious to be indignant, even though she'd just watched three of her hard earned bucks literally going down the drain.

"Hold these, please." The empty cups were thrust into her hands. Jane didn't miss the way the woman's eyes strayed to the prominent scars. Usually she would have shoved her hands into her pockets, but they were currently occupied and it made her feel exposed, vulnerable.

The Doctor was rummaging through her case and emerged with a large thermos. Jane found herself smiling and shaking her head. In the middle of a dark, wet October night in Boston, this woman had found the time to dress herself like a runway model, apply make-up and make a thermos of coffee. And she'd _still_ been at the scene before Jane.

"This is my favourite blend," she was saying as she poured steaming liquid into the cups Jane was holding. Jane had to admit, it smelt divine. "Colombian. Strong, but smooth."

No sooner was she finished pouring, than she was back in her bag and emerged with two different containers. Jane could not believe this was happening.

"Sugar?"

She couldn't help it. She responded in the same way she would have if another cop had said that to her. "Yes, honey?"

The Doctor frowned and glanced back at her bag. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't bring honey. That's more traditionally added to tea, but I'm sure I..."

Jane closed her eyes. _There_ was the catch. This amazingly gorgeous, obviously intelligent and immaculately put together woman had no sense of humour.

"Doc, I was kidding. Sugar will be fine."

She watched as Maura turned the conversation over in her head. After a moment, a grin lit up her entire face and Jane found herself grinning right back.

"Oh! A joke! Yes!" She looked like she'd just discovered the meaning of life. "Because I said 'sugar' which is sometimes used as a term of endearment and you pretended to misunderstand and called me 'honey' in return, correct?"

"Uh, yeah..." Jane was trying to work out whether or not the woman was mocking her. But the wide, guileless smile indicated otherwise.

Maura started to pour sugar into Jane's coffee. "Say when." She glanced up at Jane worriedly after a few seconds. "Say when."

Jane nodded, amused by the concern on the Doctor's face. "Keep goin'." Maura stopped pouring and frowned.

"You really should reconsider your sugar intake, Detective. I mean, clearly your physique is beyond reproach." Her eyes trailed down Jane's body and back up again. "But that much sugar in a single cup of coffee is highly unhealthy. Your teeth alone will suffer unless yo-"

"Hey Doc, usually people wait until they're on a first name basis until they start lecturing other people on their eating habits." She glanced into the cup. "Or...you know...coffee...habits."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I...I have a tendency to do that to people. I..." Dr Isles' face crumpled and, for a horrible second, Jane was afraid she was going to cry. She rushed to finish what she had been going to say.

"So you should probably start calling me Jane."

The immediate change on Maura's face gave Jane a strange feeling in her chest. She never wanted to be the cause of that smile fading again.

"Then you must call me Maura. Or you can continue to call me 'Doc' if you wish. I don't mind." Her smile seemed to grow brighter. "Jane."

Jane had always called the MEs 'Doc'. But everything about this woman told Jane that she was unlike any other ME she had ever worked with. She watched Maura pour milk into her own coffee and then replace the containers in her bag. She held out the cup for Maura to take, which she did.

"So, Maura, now that we're firm friends, I guess we should probably talk about the dead guy, huh?"

"Oh, of course, yes." Jane sipped her coffee as they made their way back over to the body and couldn't contain the small moan that escaped her throat. It was _good_ coffee.

Maura smiled at her again. "I told you." Maura crouched down, setting her own cup on the ground and pulling on a new set of gloves. She bent over the prone body. "Although I don't think you'll experience all the nuances of the flavour underneath all of that sugar."

Jane laughed. "Hey! When I said you could lecture me about my health, I didn't mean _constantly_, okay?" She crouched down so that she was eye level with Maura. "Let's limit it to one lecture per day. Which is what I'm trying to get my Ma to cut down to, so you're in good company."

"Agreed." Maura said, frowning as she tapped something into one of those fancy iPad things. Jane rolled her eyes. Of course a notepad and pen wouldn't do.

"So, COD's pretty clear." The knife in the guy's chest was a big clue. "How about TOD?"

Maura looked up at her, her eyebrows drawn together in thought. "I won't know either until I get him back to the lab and run some tests. My report will be on your desk in the morning."

Jane laughed again, assuming that Maura was joking. When her face remained serious, it became clear that she wasn't.

"You won't know until you run some...Maura, there's a knife in his chest. There's blood everywhere. I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say it was...hey, what do you know, a stab in the dark."

Maura shook her head and turned back to the body. "I'll let you know my findings directly."

"Your findings..." Jane's eyebrows were almost at her hair line. "I think you'll _find_ that he was stabbed to death."

"I do not guess, Jane." Maura's voice brooked no argument and held none of the uncertainty of her earlier interaction with Jane. This was something she was sure of and would not waver from.

"Can we at least agree he was stabbed?" Jane asked, still shocked by Maura's refusal to give her a COD.

"I will agree that a knife has been inserted into his chest with considerable force. I am unable to determine at this stage whether or not that is what caused his death."

"Are you always like this?" It was out before she could stop it, although she was glad it wasn't as sharp as it could have been. To her own ears, it almost sounded affectionate. Maura looked up and smiled in apology.

"Yes. I am. I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it."

Jane found herself grinning. "You're gonna be trouble, Dr Isles. I can just tell."

Maura smiled, clearly relieved that her working practices hadn't frightened Jane off. "That's conjecture, Detective Rizzoli."

If Jane wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of flirtation in Maura's tone.

"We'll see." She spotted Korsak arriving at the edge of the scene and stood up. "When we solve this _stabbing_..." She made sure to emphasise the word. "...I'll buy you a decent coffee and we can talk about a little thing called my gut."

"Well, if you are having problems with your intestines, I can certainly see what advice I can offer but you should probably speak to your own physician because I..."

"Later, Maura!" She looked over her shoulder to find that the ME was smiling after her.

"New Medical Examiner's a woman?" Korsak asked as she approached him.

"Yep."

"She okay?"

"She's...something else."

"Uh huh." He was looking at her closely. "She gonna cause trouble?"

She grinned at him. "My gut tells me she's gonna be all kinds of trouble."

"Oh boy." Korsak shook his head. "Here we go."


	2. Wine

Maura rarely socialised with work colleagues. She'd tried it a few times over the years and it never worked out. She always ended up boring people with facts they didn't want to know, or diagnosing things that people didn't want to hear about. Once she had misunderstood a joke at a bar which resulted in her acquiring a rather unfortunate nickname from the detectives. No, it was best to keep work and social life separate.

That was until she met Jane Rizzoli. Jane Rizzoli who would badger and cajole her into making wholly uninformed suppositions at crime scenes without her even realising it. Jane Rizzoli who would strut into the morgue with two cans of tuna and a bag of chips and call it a balanced meal. Jane Rizzoli who smiled at Maura's eccentricities rather than laugh at them behind her back. Jane Rizzoli who was rapidly becoming the best friend that Maura had ever had.

She'd been pleasantly surprised the first time Jane asked her to come out for drinks with the detectives after a case. Usually it took them much longer to include her. She'd turned the invitation down, along with the next few, citing prior engagements. It wasn't a lie. She did have things to do; feed Bass, review her charitable endowments, watch that documentary on anthropology that was taking up space on her DVR. All legitimate pursuits. All of which could have waited.

Part of her desperately wanted to go out with the detectives. Both Jane and Detective Korsak had been nothing but nice to her. Detective Crowe and some of the others were not so pleasant, but Jane tended not to socialise with them, she'd noticed. Detective Frost was even newer to the department than she was, and a lovely man who had the awful affliction of being a homicide detective with a very strong aversion to dead bodies. She was sure that spending time with Jane, Korsak and Frost would be enjoyable. But as soon as she started to entertain thoughts of joining them at the nearby cop bar, flashes of her past social faux pas would come to mind and she would quickly quash the notion. The last thing she wanted was to alienate the only set of colleagues who treated her like a human being by unwittingly embarrassing them in public.

But of course, she had forgotten to factor Jane Rizzoli and her determination into that decision.

"Who's the best detective in the world?"

Maura looked up from her paperwork to see Jane lounging against the doorway to her office. She smiled.

"Jane, I can't possibly answer that question. I would need data on closure rates and conviction percentages, and even then I probably wouldn't be able to make an accurate judgement due to the number of people who are involved in any given case and play a part in bringing it to tri-"

"Okay, okay." Jane flopped into the seat on the opposite side of Maura's desk and leaned her elbows on the surface. "That was the wrong question. I should've asked who your _favourite_ detective is."

Maura suppressed the urge to smile. She'd known the answer Jane had expected to her first question, just as she knew what the expected answer to _this_ question. She was getting much better at reading Jane's humour. She was nowhere near 100% accurate, as Jane seemed to spend most of her time being sarcastic and not saying what she meant, but she was getting better.

"My favourite detective?" She pursed up her lips in exaggerated thought. "Fictional or real?"

Jane sighed, but persevered. "Real."

"Oh, then that's easy." She nodded. "Korsak."

Maura bit her lip as she watched Jane's eyes narrow. The detective pointed at her, accusingly.

"You know, I'm not sure I like it when you're funny. You're already gorgeous and intelligent. You need to leave me the funny or I got nothing."

The rush of blood to her face and neck took her by surprise. Maura wasn't a silly little girl who blushed whenever someone called her pretty. She hadn't reached thirty-five without realising that she was aesthetically pleasing to the majority of the population. She also worked hard to help nature out by wearing clothes that accentuated her figure, styling her hair nicely and using make-up in shades that suited her skin tone. She was accustomed to people commenting on her looks. But when Jane did it, for some reason, she turned into a simpering schoolgirl.

"Jane." She did her best to sound like she was scolding the other woman, but Jane was looking at her with an expression that indicated she had noticed the effect her words had had on Maura. "You're well aware that you are my _favourite_detective."

They did this. They flirted. It was something they did. Sometimes their conversations almost felt like a competition to see who could flirt most blatantly without actually ever saying anything overt. Those appeared to be Jane's parameters for their relationship and Maura stuck by them. And she planned to stick by them until such times as Jane told her that she wanted to take things further. Jane, for all of her swagger and confidence, seemed to be rather reserved when it came to romantic or sexual matters. Maura had brought up the subject a couple of times, only for it to be quickly shot down.

"Okay, now we've established that I," Jane pointed at herself. "Jane Rizzoli, am your very favourite detective. And, let's face it, I'm probably up there with the best in the world too..."

"I'm not willing to comment on that without statistical evidence."

Jane ignored the interruption. "You should probably ask me how the case is going."

Maura folded her hands on the desk and gave Jane her full attention. "How is the case going, Jane?"

"Well, Maura, let me tell you how the case is going, thank you for asking by the way." Maura smiled warmly and shook her head, waiting for Jane to continue. "The case is solved. Done. Cracked. Finito. Over."

"He confessed?" Maura was genuinely impressed. No-one had expected this guy to confess and they had very little to go on in terms of forensic evidence. It really was down to Jane's skills as an investigator. Or, more likely, as an interrogator.

"He confessed." Jane's eyes were wide and she was almost bouncing in her seat as the adrenaline rush brought on by recalling the event coursed through her.

"That's great, Jane. I'm sure the victim's family will be glad to get some closure."

Jane nodded, her face turning sombre for a moment as she thought of all of the people affected by the case. But her smile soon returned.

"You're coming out for drinks with us tonight."

Maura opened her mouth to protest but Jane held up both of her hands to stop her. The sheer fact that Jane was showing off her scars was enough to halt Maura in her tracks. Maura had observed Jane very closely over the last few months and she had noted that Jane hardly ever knowingly showed off her hands, unless she was making a point. Maura knew the basic story behind the scars; Jane had been abducted by a sociopath who had put scalpels through both of her hands, pinning her to the floor. Jane had told her this quite matter-of-factly when Maura had asked why Frost had been assigned as her new partner. Maura had done a little research into the case herself on the internet. She would never go so far as to read the case file, or Jane's personal file. She wouldn't invade Jane's privacy like that.

Jane took her silence as an opportunity for further persuasion.

"C'mon Maura. You're part of the team. When we solve a case, we go out as a team to celebrate. I've seen _Frost_ drunk and I only just met him. C'mon. And don't give me 'prior engagement'. If you have somewhere to be, fine. But come for a drink first. One drink."

Maura briefly considered lying and telling Jane she had other plans that required her to leave the station straight away. But even the thought of the deception set her heart racing and caused her respiration to increase. She controlled her breathing to ensure she wouldn't pass out and looked over at Jane. Then Jane tilted her head and stuck out her lower lip.

"Please?"

And Maura was powerless.

"Fine. One drink."

"Yes!" Jane actually pumped her fist. She practically jumped out of the chair and headed for the door. Probably so that Maura wouldn't change her mind. She paused in the doorway and turned back around, pointing at Maura. "I'll be down to get in you in a half hour. Make yourself presentable."

Maura looked down at her outfit, her mouth open in horror; she didn't have a change of clothes with her. She couldn't socialise in the same clothes she'd _worked_ in. Jane must have caught her expression.

"Maura." She looked up. "I'm kidding. What you have on is fine. Believe me, you'll outclass everyone in the place by a mile anyway."

It was possibly the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. She smiled.

"Thank you, Jane. I'll see you soon."

Jane winked at her. "Yes, you will."

Then she was gone and Maura was left wondering why on earth she'd agreed to this.

-

The Dirty Robber was already crowded when Jane and Maura arrived. Jane manoeuvred her way through the sea of bodies with practised ease. Maura did her best to keep up, barely resisting the urge to reach out and grab onto the back of Jane's jacket so as not to lose her.

The came to an abrupt stop when Jane reached a table that Frost and Korsak were seated at, nursing beer bottles.

"Hey Doc!" Korsak greeted her warmly. "So Janie finally convinced you to come out with us, huh? I'm glad, 'cause I gotta tell ya, she was startin' to doubt her charms."

"I..." Maura couldn't bring herself to look at Jane and felt herself blushing again for no good reason. "Yes, I've come to celebrate the team's success with the case."

"Pull up a pew." Korsak shifted over on his side of the booth to leave room for her. "It's Rizzoli's round."

"Of course it is," Jane said. "Beers all round?"

Maura considered letting Jane buy her a beer and just not drinking it. But that would be rude, and it would not go unnoticed; she was sitting with three detectives, after all.

"Could I have wine instead?"

Jane did not appear surprised by this request.

"Sure, what kind?"

"Oh." Maura tried to think of something generic as she doubted that the Dirty Robber carried specific vintages. "Something light is fine. A Valpolicella or similar."

Jane's laugh was something Maura had grown very fond of. Even now, when Jane appeared to be laughing at _her_, Maura found herself very taken with the sound.

"I kinda meant red or white. But you better come with me if you want it to be more specific than that."

So, once again, Maura found herself trailing through the crowd behind Jane. She was quite relieved of the excuse not to stay with Frost and Korsak. While she liked them both well enough, she felt that there was greater potential to say something that would be regarded as strange if Jane wasn't there. Jane somehow managed to know where she was coming from a lot of the time, and, even when she didn't, she would use humour to make the situation comfortable rather than awkward.

They made it to the bar, thanks to Jane shouldering a number of bodies out of the way. As they waited to be served, Maura was being jostled by people coming and going and trying to carry drinks. Almost unconsciously, Jane stepped back from the bar and urged Maura to move in front of her so that she was shielded from the worst of it. Maura smiled to herself as she felt her body react to the sensation of Jane pressing against her back.

"What do you want, Rizzoli?" The bartender could use some work on his customer service skills, but Jane seemed unperturbed.

"Three beers and...do you have any Valpolicella?"

Maura closed her eyes as Jane slipped into a very natural Italian accent as she asked for the wine. Hearing Jane's deep voice wrap around those vowel sounds and lengthen the consonants almost made her physically shiver.

"C'mon Rizzoli, you know we don't serve food after six. You want pasta, you go to your mama's house, okay?"

"It's a wine, Murray. But you better gimme whatever you have that's red."

While she was ordering, Jane had moved closer to the bar again, forcing Maura to shift a little to the side. Jane's arm was loosely around her waist and Maura turned a little so that she was facing Jane. A sudden hand on her hip was an unwelcome intrusion into the little bubble they'd created and Maura turned quickly to face the owner of the hand. A large, uniformed police officer loomed over her. He turned to speak over his shoulder, his hand moving from her hip to her backside. She tried to move away but there was no room.

"Jesus, she _is_ just as good from the front, guys." He turned back to her. "I never saw you in here before, sweetheart. Where you been hidin', huh? You a secretary up in homicide or somethin'?"

Before she could reply, she felt Jane move. An arm flashed out, pushing the guy away roughly.

"She's the Chief Medical Examiner, Crolla. And if you don't get your fucking mangy paw off her ass right now, I'll kick you so hard in the balls that you'll be using them as a neck pillow."

The hand was immediately removed from her posterior and Jane's arm came about her waist again, pulling her back against her. The big guy held his hands up.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, Rizzoli. I...I...I'm sorry Doc, I didn't realise."

Maura nodded at him, wondering why it made a difference that she was the Chief Medical Examiner. Would it have been acceptable to maul her if she _had_ been a secretary? Or was his apology because of Jane's quite graphic threat and clear possessive body language? She turned back around, noting that Jane tightened her grip around her waist and revelling in the close proximity it brought them into. She was well aware that a primitive part of her brain had just gone into overdrive, identifying Jane as a worthy and capable protector and potential mate. She kept her head down to hide the flush on her cheeks, but allowed herself to lean into Jane's embrace.

"You okay?" Jane had bent her neck to try to see Maura's face, and her voice was soft, intimate, next to her ear.

She looked up into Jane's concerned eyes and smiled to show she was unharmed.

"I'm fine."

Jane sighed. "I guess idiots like that are the reason you didn't want to come out with us in the first place, huh?"

"Not really." She'd come to expect that kind of behaviour from men after they'd had a few drinks. It was tribal behaviour; displaying overt mating rituals in front of companions to demonstrate strength and virility. Most of them had big mouths, but if Jane hadn't intervened, Maura's fairly sure she could've gotten rid of him herself with very little effort.

"I was never in any jeopardy, Jane." Feeling daring, she tugged on the collar of Jane's shirt. "I had my favourite detective to protect me."

Jane's eyes widened and Maura was gratified to notice that her pupils dilated significantly at her words. She was prevented from replying by the arrival of their drinks. Jane had to let go of her, then, and Maura felt cold without the contact, even though she knew the temperature in the room was exactly the same as it had been previously. Jane dropped some bills on the bar and picked up the three bottles in one hand and Maura's glass in the other. This time, Maura _did_ hang on to the back of Jane's jacket as they moved through the crowd.

The men gave Jane some friendly abuse for taking so long, but accepted their bottles. Maura slid into her place beside Korsak and Jane took a seat beside Frost. She slid the glass of wine across the table.

"I'm sure it's disgusting, but I'll make sure Murray gets something decent in if this is gonna be a regular thing."

Jane's voice was hopeful, as was her expression.

"Well, I don't want you to go to any trouble..." Maura began, but Jane shook her head.

"It's no trouble. This place could do with a little class."

She looked at each of the detectives in turn, trying to decide if they would object to her involvement in their after work activities. She saw nothing to indicate that it would bother them.

"I'd like to make it a regular thing." She allowed her eyes to come to rest on Jane. "If none of you mind."

"'Course not, Doc. You're one of us. " Frost held out his fist. She looked down at it, then back up into his eyes, confused. He smiled kindly. "You, uh, punch it, Doc."

"Oh, of course." She daintily punched his fist with her own, causing Jane to snort beer down her nose.

"Alright, alright." Jane held up her bottle. "To the best team in the world ever."

She was looking at Maura, expecting her to correct the extreme hyperbole. But Maura just smiled and clinked her glass against the three bottles.

"Cheers!"

She took a sip of her wine. It was revolting. She smiled.


	3. Chicken soup

"I love you."

It was the ninth time Jane had told her she loved her. It was the ninth time her heart had broken.

"I love you too, Jane."

She replied that way every single time, even though she knew that Jane's brain chemistry was significantly altered by the quantity of drugs she had in her system. She knew that Jane had no idea what she was saying. She knew that Jane would never remember any of these conversations. But Maura would. She would remember every single one as long as she lived.

"I wanna take you to the zoo."

She smiled and blinked away tears, stroking Jane's face with her thumb. This was a new one. She sat forward in the hard hospital chair, leaning more heavily on the side of the bed.

"I'd like to go to the zoo with you."

Jane shifted, her glazed eyes met Maura's briefly.

"I'd take you to see the elephants. You'd like the elephants."

The slurred speech made Maura think of nights at the Robber, after too many drinks. Jane's cheeks would be flushed and her eyelids heavy. And she'd flirt shamelessly with Maura and trip over her words and laugh at herself. Maura was experiencing a physical _ache_ in her chest, so strong was her longing to see her like that again. Instead she had spent the last ten days sitting by a hospital bed, watching Jane become weaker as she fought to recover from the trauma of her self-inflicted gunshot wound and then fought off various infections and complications from her surgeries. Jane was a fighter, but Maura just wanted her not to have to fight anymore. Maura wanted to cry every time she looked at the pale face of her friend. The pallid skin and dark eyes made for a haunting picture.

"I like elephants."

Jane's fingers twitched on the bed and Maura took hold of her hand and squeezed gently, allowing her thumb to sweep over the scar on the back of it. Maura brought Jane's hand up to rest between them, linking their fingers together.

"They're smart. Like you. You'd like 'em. Never forget."

Jane's eyes were drifting closed and Maura knew she wasn't going to be awake for very much longer.

"We'll go to the zoo when you're better. I promise. We'll see the elephants."

Maura added the zoo to the various other activities she'd promised Jane they'd take part in. It was silly, but Maura felt like it gave Jane something to look forward to in her moments of lucidity. It certainly gave Maura something to cling to.

"Mmhmmm...you're prettier than elephants though..."

Maura laughed softly. "Why thank you, Jane. You really know how to pay a girl a compliment."

But Jane was unconscious again. Maura lifted their joined hands and pressed the back of Jane's hand against her lips as she spoke.

"You just concentrate on getting better, okay? Let me worry about the elephants. I'll take you to India and we can ride on an elephant if that's what you want to do. Just...just get better. I need you to get better."

Maura had read studies on the impact of positive thinking on recovery. She had been sceptical at best, because although they all claimed fantastic results and irrefutable evidence, none of them were carried out under conditions that afforded validity to the data gathered. But now she was willing to try anything to increase the speed of Jane's recovery.

"She asleep again?"

Maura looked up to see Jane's mother coming into the room. She lowered Jane's hand back to the bed and nodded.

"She was awake for a little while."

Angela walked around to the opposite side of Jane's bed, laying a paper bag down on the table that stretched across it. She stooped to kiss Jane's forehead and brush away some stray hairs from her cheek.

"Hi sweetie," she whispered. "I hope you've been behaving for Dr Isles."

Maura's lips quirked into a smile. "She has. And _please_ call me Maura. I've asked you to a number of times."

"And yet you still insist on calling me 'Mrs Rizzoli' which makes me feel ancient and gives me horrible flashbacks to my mother-in-law, may she rest in peace, though I doubt she's anywhere other than in the fiery pits of hell right now." Maura's smile grew as Angela's colourful mode of speech filled the room and made it feel warmer, less sterile. "So when you start calling me Angela, I'll see what I can do about calling you Maura. And that bag is for you, as if you didn't know it by now."

Angela had been bringing Maura meals at the hospital since she found out Maura hadn't eaten anything other than saltines for the first four days of Jane's confinement. Maura had protested vehemently to begin with, until Angela assured her that cooking helped her. It made her feel useful. It gave her something to do. Maura could relate to that. She'd never felt so useless in her life.

Maura had agreed to let Angela cook for her, and Angela had agreed to stop trying to persuade Maura to go home to sleep. Frost and Korsak had brought in the overnight bag that Maura always kept packed in the morgue in case she had to pull an all-nighter. When she'd worn the clothes from the bag, they'd brought her a succession of Boston PD garments in a variety of sizes. Eventually she'd called Bass's sitter and arranged for Frost to pick up some of her things from home.

"Thank you,_ Angela_." Maura stressed the name as she reached for the bag.

"There's some chicken pot pie in there, and a salad, and some pudding for dessert. Oh, and a thermos of soup for later."

The smell as she opened the bag was heavenly. It was real, home-cooked food. Cooked by someone's _mother_. She took out the various containers and sat back down next to Jane with the chicken pie and a fork.

"I keep hoping that..." Angela bit her lip. "That maybe the smell of my cooking will make her feel better."

Maura offered her a sad smile. "Perhaps it will. I don't believe anyone has ever studied the effect of familiar smells on recovery, so...you never know."

Maura ate in silence while Angela carried on a one-sided conversation with Jane about the local neighbourhood gossip and passed on well-wishes from various family members that Maura had never heard of and told her how Frankie was driving her insane by lying on the couch and ringing a bell for attention all day. By the time Maura was finishing the pudding cup, Angela was sitting in the chair across Jane's bed and watching her eat. Maura got up and tidied away the containers, and still Angela's eyes followed her.

"Thank you, Angela. That was delicious, as always." She sat back down and covered Jane's hand with her own, her eyes flicking over her face for any minute change. Angela started speaking and drew her attention away from Jane.

"You know, Carla Talucci is my best friend in the whole world. Known her since we were in kindergarten together. Been together through thick and thin." She glanced down at herself. "Well, neither of us is likely to see 'thin' again, but still."

Maura had no idea where this was coming from. But she knew the required response to people discussing their weight.

"That's...nice. And you're not terribly overweight, Angela. Most people gain weight later in life, particularly if they've borne children."

Angela shook her head with a soft smile. "Only you could call somebody fat and not make it sound like an insult."

Maura's mouth dropped open and, for what felt like the millionth time that week, wished that Jane were awake to stop her from saying these inappropriate things.

"I didn't! I was very careful not to sa-"

"Maura, my weight isn't the point I was trying to make."

"Oh, I..." Maura decided to leave it. If she tried to apologise further, she'd only most likely end up insulting Angela More. "You were talking about your friend."

"Yeah, Carla. Like I was saying, I know what it is to have a best friend. As much as I'd like to think I would take a bullet for Carla, I'm not sure that I would. As much as I like to think I'd sit by her bedside for ten days straight, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't."

She looked pointedly at the way Maura had linked her fingers with Jane's. It almost made Maura want to pull away, but she didn't.

"Mrs Riz...Angela. I...Jane and I...I feel..."

Maura was unaccustomed to not knowing what to say in any given situation. Maura had never discussed her feelings for Jane with _anyone_. Including Jane. She had assumed Jane had not either. And yet, here was her mother, seemingly completely aware of whatever was going on between them. Maura thought of a million possible responses to what Angela had hinted at. But in the end, she didn't have the energy for denials or deflection. She just looked at Jane's mother with tear-filled eyes.

"I've never seen my Janie as happy as she is when she's with you. I've never heard her talk about anyone the way she talks about you. When she gets better, the two of you need to talk. Talk about whatever you need to talk about. But love is love, Maura and when you find it, you gotta hold on to it." Maura still couldn't find any words, but Angela wasn't finished. "So when she's better, you hold onto her, got it?"

Maura squeezed Jane's unresponsive fingers.

"When she gets better I want to hold onto her and never let her out of my sight again." She laughed a little, a few tears escaping and running down her cheeks. "Isn't that ridiculous? And definitely impractical."

"No, it's not. I feel that way all the time. When she was born and they put her in my arms, that's what I thought to myself. I thought _'Jane, I am going to watch over you every minute of your life because you're too precious to let anything happen to you'_. But they grow up and move out and...well, look what happens. _Two_ of my babies ended up here with holes through them...what does that say about me? I can't keep them safe..."

Maura was shaking her head.

"Angela, your children ended up here because they are good, brave people who care about doing what is right. Jane put herself between Frankie and a gun...between _me_ and a gun...because she would rather take a bullet than see anything happen to either of us. _You_ raised her to be that way."

Angela sighed and looked at Maura.

"I know. And I wouldn't want to change her for the world." She sighed again, rubbing Jane's shoulder gently. "But sometimes I just wish they were still my tiny little babies."

Maura stroked Jane's cheek.

"I love her."

It felt good to say it. Liberating. Because she knew that Angela was awake and aware and would remember it.

"I know, honey. She loves you too."

"I know." Maura said. "She wants to take me to the zoo." And that's when the tears came in earnest.

Angela rounded the bed and bundled Maura into her arms, rocking her back and forth. Maura clung to her as tightly as she could. She wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, a mother needing a daughter and a daughter needing a mother.

When they parted, Angela kissed Maura's forehead. "When she wakes up, we'll both work on keeping her safe, how about that?"

Maura nodded, wiping at the tears that kept falling. Angela moved away a little to allow her to compose herself and went back to speaking to Jane.

"You hear that, Janie? We're both gonna keep you safe. And it's gonna drive you crazy. And we don't care." Maura smiled as she dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue. Angela bent closer to Jane's head. She lowered her voice, but not by much. "And if I were you, I'd hurry up and get better, 'cause I think you got some hot lovin' coming in the not too distant future."

"Angela!" Maura gasped, laughing in spite of herself. Angela winked at her, a very Rizzoli wink, and kissed Jane's cheek.

"Okay honey, I gotta get back home in case Frank has confiscated Frankie's bell again." She gathered up the containers she'd delivered Maura's dinner in and left the thermos of soup on the side table. "I know my Janie's in safe hands here. You'll call me if anything changes."

"Of course. And...thank you."

"No need to thank me. And don't forget to take care of yourself while you're sitting here. No point in you getting sick too. That's why I brought you my chicken soup. It's better than any medicine. And I hear it's good for the soul."

"Well, leaving aside for now the arguments for and against the existence of such a thing as a 'soul', I believe that 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' is a book series of inspirational sayings rather than a medicinal property of the actual sou-"

"Maura, drink the soup." Angela paused, a faraway look on her face. "I always told the kids that it was magic soup when they were little. And that the special ingredient was 'love'. Even labelled one of my jars of herbs 'Love'." She laughed. "Janie never believed me, but Frankie was nineteen before he realised there wasn't really love in my soup."

Maura smiled. "I'm sure there's love in all of your dishes, Angela."

Clearing her throat, Angela gave Maura another kiss on the head. "Drink up. It works wonders, I promise you."

And then she was gone. Maura lifted the thermos and removed the cup from the top before unscrewing the lid. She took a moment to inhale the aroma from inside. She poured a generous portion for herself and settled back down to watch Jane as she sipped the soup, both hands wrapped around the warm plastic cup. As the liquid made its way down her throat, she imagined she could feel the warmth spreading in tendrils through her arterial system. She knew it was impossible, but the taste and the scent seemed to wrap around her and comfort her.

"Hey, Jane?" She knew she wouldn't get a response. "Everything's going to be okay." For the first time since the shooting, it didn't feel like a platitude or a lie. It felt like the truth. "You know why? Because we've got magic soup and you're taking me to the zoo. And things are always okay at the zoo."

She sipped the soup and wondered if she was imagining the smile that had appeared on Jane's face.


	4. Milk

She'd been out of the hospital for two weeks. Two glorious weeks of not having doctors and nurses prodding and poking her every five minutes, sticking objects into places objects shouldn't ever be stuck into. Why did they need to know the temperature _there_ anyway? Of course, even though she was home, she still had to put up with the constant attention she was getting from well-meaning friends and family. While they were less physically intrusive than the medical staff, for the most part, each and every one of them had an opinion on how she should be acting to aid her recovery.

Her mother, in particular, had taken to hovering over her all the time and tidying things that were already tidy. One day, Jane had exploded pretty much banned her from the apartment. Then Maura had taken Angela into the kitchen where they talked in hushed tones while Jane lay on the couch and seethed at being spoken about behind her back in her own house. But in the end, Angela had left with barely a word of complaint. So whatever Maura had said had been effective. Jane had let her watch a documentary on meerkats that evening by way of saying thank you. Anyway, her mother should be concentrating on Frankie's recovery. Jane had Maura.

Maura. Since regaining consciousness, Jane's thoughts had been taken up almost exclusively by the M.E. Maura had been there when she'd opened her eyes, holding her hand and smiling and sorta crying and rattling off weird medical data to the nurse that had rushed in. Jane had smiled and squeezed her hand and asked about Frankie. After that, Maura had been with her constantly. It was only later that Jane discovered that Maura hadn't left her side the whole time she'd been unconscious. She was both pleased and disturbed by that. While she was happy that Maura had wanted to be with her, she wasn't sure she liked the thought of Maura seeing her so weak, so exposed.

Her brush with death reaffirmed all the old clichés about life being short and grabbing the bull by the balls or whatever. Lying in her hospital bed, she'd decided to actually _do_ something about the obvious sexual tension between herself and Maura. But there had always been something or someone in the way and the longer things had gone on, the less sure Jane had become. It was _Maura_. Everything had to be perfect. To give herself some breathing space, and to allow herself to be a chicken for just a little bit longer, Jane had decided that she would wait until she was fighting fit again so that she could really sweep Maura off her feet. Literally, if necessary.

So they'd fallen back into their usual way of acting around each other. Well, maybe it wasn't _usual_ for Maura to sleep at Jane's apartment every night. And perhaps they sat a little bit closer to each other on the couch than they _usually_ did. And it was possible that when Maura snuggled up against her in bed, Jane accepted it without her _usual_ amount of huffing and complaining about personal space. But Jane put all of that down to both of them being kinda relieved that Jane hadn't died. And she wasn't going to complain. Well, she complained about _some_ of the _unusual_ things that had become necessary, but were far less pleasant. Like how Maura had to help her to wash and dress herself. But then Maura would liken her to a squirmy six year old and everything would be okay between them again.

She was currently in the kitchen, thinking about what she could eat that would require minimal preparation. Maura had gone back to work a couple of days previously and wasn't home yet. Angela had visited in the afternoon which had left Jane feeling tense. Sometimes she felt bad for the way she thought about her mother. But then, if she didn't insist on_tidying_ things and asking random questions that put Jane on edge, Jane wouldn't have to have murderous thoughts. So it was her own fault really. Her latest bout of questioning had revolved around Maura and whether or not she and Jane had spoken. What kind of dumb question was that, anyway?

_"Really, Ma? You think she just comes home from work, gives me my sponge bath and puts me to bed? Of course we speak."_

Angela had given her that look. The one that made Jane feel five years old. "Jane, that's not what I meant."

"Well, you said 'Have you spoken to Maura?'. My answer is yes, I speak to Maura all the time. I spoke to her on the phone about ten minutes before you got here. She's having tuna on rye for lunch, in case you were wondering."

With a sigh that indicated that Jane was being difficult_ again, Angela tried another approach. "Have you had any...interesting conversations with Maura lately?"_

Jane echoed the sigh. "Ma, if there's something in particular you're being nosey about, just ask. If there isn't, can you stop asking dumb questions?"

Things had quickly degenerated from there into an argument about Jane calling her mother dumb and resulted in Angela leaving, yelling over her shoulder that she didn't know how Maura put up with Jane and that she must have the patience of a saint. Jane didn't have a chance to come up with a witty response. She blamed the pain medication.

Pop-Tarts. That's what she wanted to eat. Unfortunately, they were on a shelf that was above chest level which was about Jane's current reach capability. Looking around, her eyes landed on the high kitchen stools which sat at the counter. Without thinking about it too much, she grabbed one and dragged it to where the Pop-Tarts were. Taking a deep breath, she hiked one knee onto the seat. It caused a twinge of pain, but nothing she couldn't handle. Another deep breath and she pushed with her other leg in an attempt to get both knees on the seat. And that's when the pain hit. Searing pain that seemed to rip her body in half. She stumbled backwards, cradling her injury with her hand. She could barely see and she didn't even try to look at it, just stumbled to the couch, panting and sweating. She was dimly aware of the sound of a key in the lock and then the door opening. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable rebuke.

"Jane!"

"I'm fine." Jane opened her eyes and saw Maura throwing her bag and coat on the floor. Before Jane could say anything further, Maura was on her knees by the couch, her hands pressing against Jane's wound.

"Are you okay? What happened? You haven't had pain like this in days." Maura was holding two fingers to her neck and looking at her watch. Frowning, she returned both hands to cover the entry and exit wounds on Jane's right side.

"I need to take your shirt off to see if you're bleeding."

Something snapped. It probably had more to do with Angela than Maura, but Jane was fed up of being everyone's patient. She wanted Maura Isles to take her shirt off for any number of reasons, but to check a gaping wound was not one of them. She mustered every ounce of dignity she had and pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing at the pain.

"Stop _fussing_ over me! I'm not a fucking invalid, Maura. I don't need a nursemaid."

Maura's hands fell away from her side and her she bowed her head. Immediately, Jane wanted to take the words back. Then Maura looked back up and Jane almost shrank away from the pain and hurt in her eyes.

"I know you're not Jane. I'm well aware of your injuries. Every single one of them. I spoke about them in detail to a wide variety of doctors and specialists over the course of your stay in hospital. I know the location every stitch in your body, internal and external. I have intimate knowledge of the procedures that were carried out to repair your organs and to put you back together. I recall every fluctuation in your blood pressure." Her voice cracked a little on the last word but she swallowed and kept going. "If you think I'm not qualified to give you advice on how best to aid your recovery, that's fine. I won't express my concern any more. I'll just watch while you re-open your wounds and I'll sit by your bedside, _again_, while you fight off further infection. Is that agreeable to you?"

Maura was shaking by the time she'd finished speaking. Her face was red and her eyes shining with tears. And Jane felt like the world's biggest shithead.

"Maura, I..."

But Maura didn't even wait for her to finish, she just walked out of the room, towards the bathroom. Jane flopped back heavily on the couch. Not because she was in pain, but because her body seemed to have turned to jell-o. Watching Maura walk away, it occurred to Jane that she might just have frightened off the best thing to ever happen to her. She needed to talk to Maura, to apologise, to beg for forgiveness. Jane was in the process of pushing herself up when Maura came back into the room. She picked up the coat and bag she'd discarded earlier and Jane drew in a breath.

"Maura, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. God knows I want to yell at a lot of people most of the time, but not you. Never you."

Maura said nothing, but hung her coat on the coat rack and placed her bag on the table. Jane almost fainted with relief. Maura walked past her and into the kitchen area. She opened the fridge. Jane watched as she poured two glasses of milk. Then she took out a plate and filled it with Oreos, putting them onto a tray along with the milk. Making her way back to the couch, she sat down next to Jane and placed the tray on the coffee table. Jane was confused, but relieved that Maura hadn't left. She raised an eyebrow in question.

"Milk and cookies?"

Maura nodded lifted one of the glasses of milk and held it out for Jane to take, a tentative smile in place.

"Your mother told me that you hated being sick when you were little, because you didn't like to be taken care of. She said the only thing that made you feel better was milk and cookies."

Jane looked from the glass to Maura's hopeful face. She broke out in a genuine smile and Maura seemed to start breathing again.

"Thank you." Jane took the glass of milk. Maura picked up the other glass and settled back on the couch. Jane waited a moment, watching as Maura sipped her drink, before doing the same. Their shoulders were touching as they sat in silence.

"I'm sorry that I said all of that." Maura's voice was low and when Jane glanced over at her, she was looking into her milk. "I shouldn't be making you feel guilty about your injuries. I just...I'm just relieved that you're okay. I'm sorry."

Jane put down her glass of milk and gently cupped Maura's chin, urging her round so that they were looking into each other's eyes.

"Maura, you have been nothing but patient and caring with me and I'm just acting like an asshole who expects miracles. So don't you _ever_ apologise for wanting me not to hurt myself. Okay?"

Maura's own hand came up to cover Jane's, pressing it more firmly against her cheek. She nodded. "Okay."

Maybe it was the feel of Maura's skin against her hand. Or maybe it was the fact that she'd given her milk and cookies. Or maybe Jane had just given up on trying to find the perfect moment. Whatever the reason, it came out.

"I want to date you."

As confessions of love went, it would not go down in history. Jane wasn't sure if Maura was elated or horrified. Maybe if she'd listened more when Maura talked about microexpressions. She hurried to continue.

"I...that came out wrong."

Maura's eyes widened and Jane had no doubt what her expression meant; it was sheer panic. "So...you _don't_ want to date me?"

"No! Yes!" Jane inhaled deeply through her nose. "I am totally fucking this up."

The glass of milk Maura was still holding was in danger of spilling because her hand was shaking so much. Jane took it from her and set it back on the table. She took Maura's hand in hers.

"Okay, you can tell this wasn't planned. Even _I_ woulda come up with a grander gesture than spilling my guts over milk and cookies...but that's not to say that I haven't wanted to tell you for the longest time..."

Maura's lower lip was trembling and Jane guessed she wasn't quite ready to speak yet.

"I wanted to tell you so many times in the hospital, but Ma was always there or I had some doctor with his hands down my shirt, or I was feeling weak as a kitten and literally couldn't summon up the energy to say the words...but I told myself, I _swore_ to myself that I'd tell you when they finally let me out. And instead I yelled at you and then mumbled some shit about wanting to date you." Jane took a deep breath, holding Maura's gaze. "When really what I want to say is that I...that I..."

Jesus, why couldn't she say it? She felt it. She was almost positive that Maura felt it too. But the damn word wouldn't come out.

"If it helps, you already told me, Jane."

That threw Jane for a loop. Maura's smile was encouraging, but Jane had no idea what she was talking about.

"Huh?"

"You told me you loved me numerous times at the hospital, if that's what you're concerned about. Admittedly you weren't fully compos mentis when you said it. But I believed that you meant it." Maura squeezed her hand, her eyes shining and her smile bright, giving Jane a nod as if to tell her to speak now.

Unsure what to do with this new information, Jane just stared at the other woman for a moment. Maura's smile started to dim.

"Unless...unless that's not what you are trying to say. In which case I've potentially embarrassed myself to quite a severe degree and I-."

Jane rushed to cut Maura off.

"No! That _is_ what I wanna say to you." She frowned. "I...feel like there's pressure now. Like I was maybe all suave and poetic when I was out of my head on morphine and this is going to be a disappointment."

Maura surprised Jane then; she laughed. Jane raised an eyebrow, feeling some of her equilibrium return. "Really? I'm telling you that I'm having a crisis of confidence and you're laughing at me? Is this how it's gonna be, Dr Isles?"

Covering her mouth, Maura attempted to get her laughter under control. "Oh, I'm sorry Jane, I don't mean to laugh at you. But you were not at all suave or poetic under the influence of morphine. One of the times you told me, you were actually drooling."

Jane closed her eyes. "Not helping, Maura."

She felt Maura's hands on her cheeks and opened her eyes to find nothing but affection looking back at her.

"Again, I apologise. I, in no way, meant to increase the amount of pressure you are feeling. I hoped it would lessen it. But perhaps this will." Once again, Maura took Jane's hands, squeezing gently. "Each and every time you told me you loved me, I said it back. And if you say it now, I'll say it back."

Not for the first time, Jane was struck by how strong Maura really was. This tiny, fragile looking woman constantly amazed Jane with how she came through awful, terrifying experiences and still managed to smile and care and try to make things better for everyone else. And suddenly it felt like the easiest thing in the world to say.

"I love you."

Maura bit her lip, obviously trying to keep her emotions in check. When she spoke, her voice was rough and near to cracking.

"I love you too, Jane."

For the first time since she regained consciousness, Jane could feel no pain in any part of her body. She was filled by a lightness she could remember from her childhood, when anything was possible and everything was safe and happy. So, rather than think too deeply about anything, she did the first thing that came to mind. She leaned in and pressed her lips gently against Maura's. Maura's hand came up to cup her face and they both smiled into the kiss. Reluctant to pull away, when Jane spoke, it was against Maura's mouth.

"Did I do _that_ in the hospital? Please tell me I didn't. I'd like to be conscious for at least _some_ of the important moments in my life."

Maura laughed and hiccupped and sobbed all at once and Jane, as carefully as she could, gathered her up in her arms and held her. She rocked both of them back and forth and pressed kisses against Maura's hair and forehead and anywhere else she could reach. When she felt Maura's tears lessen, she waited for the other woman to move first. Maura didn't make her wait long. She lifted her head and looked into Jane's eyes.

"No. You didn't do that in the hospital." Jane made a big production out of sighing in relief that made Maura smile. But her expression quickly changed to one of wonder. She stroked Jane's cheekbone with her thumb and tilted her head.

"That was...that was our first kiss, Jane."

For a second, Jane thought about teasing Maura about stating the obvious, but it didn't feel like a time for teasing.

"It was." Jane was surprised at how shaky her voice sounded. "I...uh...would like to have our second kiss now. Please."

Maura smiled and leaned in. Jane closed here eyes in anticipation. But instead of Maura's lips against her own, she felt a kiss being pressed to her cheek. She frowned, until another was pressed to her nose, then her eyebrow. By the time Maura made it to her mouth, Jane was grinning like an idiot and it made the kiss all the sweeter. This time, Jane didn't let Maura move away. Instead, she pulled her in tightly against her body in a hug. She closed her eyes and concentrated on remembering the perfection of the moment.

Gradually, they moved so that they were sitting side by side, Jane's arm around Maura's back, and Maura's hand on Jane's leg, her head on Jane's shoulder. It didn't seem all that different to any other evening.

Jane's lips quirked into a smile. "Maur?"

"Hmmm?"

"We've been dating for a while, huh?"

She felt Maura laugh a little. "To all intents and purposes, I suppose we have." She lifted her head and pressed a kiss to Jane's chin. "But I do enjoy the benefits that accompany the formalisation of our relationship status."

Jane purred as Maura's hand moved from her thigh to her belly, rubbing gently as their lips met again, briefly. "Mmmm, me too." She rubbed her nose against Maura's. "How long until we…?"

"Until we what?" Maura murmured, clearly far too interested in nipping at Jane's neck to pick up on her meaning.

"Until we can…you know…until I can exert myself."

Maura sat up a little so she could look into Jane's eyes. "You mean until we can have sex?"

Jane rolled her eyes, willing herself not to blush and failing. "Yes, Dr Ruth. Until we can have sex."

A delighted smile curled Maura's lips as if Jane had just told her a huge secret. "We can have sex!"

"_Now_?"

The word came out in a higher register than normal due to surprise. Jane was almost positive that sex with Maura would be highly energetic and would result in a lot of clenching and stretching of parts of her that it currently hurt to clench and stretch. At least, that's how it always was when she imagined it. Maura was frowning and shaking her head.

"No, not now. You're still healing and I wouldn't want to slow that process down. I just meant that, in general, you and I can have sex with each other now. Which wasn't previously something we did." Maura looked so incredibly pleased by this that Jane couldn't help but laugh, making her wince again.

"Anyway," Maura continued while covering Jane's hand over her wound. "Despite the fact that we have ostensibly been dating for months, I still expect us to go on an actual date before we sleep together."

Jane smiled. She liked the sound of that. "You do, huh? Anywhere in particular you'd like to be taken?"

Maura returned her smile and leaned in to bring their lips together in a kiss that was laughably chaste, considering the topic of conversation.

"I know exactly where I would like to go on our first date."

Smirking, Jane tilted her head. "Okay. Wanna enlighten me? And if it's something fancy, probably write it down so I spell it right when I google it later?"

Maura just shook her head, she lifted her hand and brushed her thumb across Jane's lower lip, watching its progress as she did so. She looked back up into Jane's eyes, still smiling.

"I want you to take me to the zoo."


	5. Cosmopolitans

They were lying in Jane's bed, covers barely past their waists. Jane trailed a finger up Maura's spine, smiling when it caused Maura to arch her back, pressing her breasts further into Jane's side. Maura shifted, resettling her head on Jane's shoulder, a hand tracing patterns on Jane's abdomen. Jane loved these moments. When there were no dead bodies and no bad guys. When it was just the two of them with nothing to do but enjoy each other's company. She turned her head and pressed a soft kiss against Maura's closed eyelid.

"I think we should take your mother out."

Jane froze. Thoughts of her mother were _not_ welcome at times like this.

"Maura, what did we say about bringing up my mother, my brothers or my work colleagues when we have no clothes on?"

Maura moved so that she was leaning up on her elbow, looking down at Jane, her face serious. Though with her breasts clearly on display, Jane found it difficult to focus on her face. "That it freaks you out and I should try not to do it anymore."

"Yes, that's right." Jane said, nodding. "And did you? Try?"

"Yes, I'm sure I did." Maura's hand slid down Jane's stomach and wrapped around her hip, her thumb stroking over the prominent bone. "But this is important. I really think we should take your mother out."

Jane yawned and stretched her arms out above her head. "I know she's annoying, but organising a hit on her is a bit extreme." She glanced up to find Maura looking back at her in confusion.

"Okay, mob humour perhaps wasn't the best choice for you." Maura frowned. "Or, you know, any kind of humour." The frown deepened and she turned away from Jane, rolling onto her side. Jane grabbed her before she could go far and pulled her back into her arms. Maura put up no resistance, allowing herself to be enveloped by Jane's long limbs. Jane kissed her shoulder and tightened her arms for a second.

"Okay, I'm listening. Tell me."

There was a moment's pause in which Jane wondered if she'd have to apologise further, but then Maura turned around again, still in the circle of Jane's arms. She brought her hand up to push Jane's hair behind her ear, letting the backs of her fingers caress Jane's cheek. She was wearing a determined expression and Jane knew that she'd end up agreeing to whatever was going to be proposed.

"Your mother is bored and lonely. I think you and I should do something nice for her and take her out for dinner or drinks." Jane opened her mouth but Maura beat her to it. "_Not_ to the Dirty Robber."

Jane sighed. "I don't know how she can be bored. She lives with you. She's with us every day at work, and then pretty much every night at your place. And she has friends. Tons of them!"

"I know." Maura continued to touch the skin on Jane's face and neck, making it difficult for her to concentrate. "But I think her friends have acted a little strangely since she moved out of the family home. She thinks they don't know what to say to her."

"Fucking catholics," Jane muttered. "They preach all this 'love thy neighbour' crap, until someone actually _needs_ help because her goddamned husband walked out on her."

"The dichotomies in organised religion are fascinating, I agree." Maura raked her hand through Jane's wavy hair. "So, what do you think? A nice dinner and then a cocktail bar perhaps?"

Jane caught Maura's hand in her own and brought it to her lips, kissing the tips of each of her fingers.

"Does this mean I have to get dressed up all fancy?" She dipped her chin and looked up at Maura with her best puppy eyes, attempting to move the subject away from her mother. Maura smiled and cradled Jane's cheek, leaning in to press a slow, sensuous kiss to her lips, pulling back just enough to murmur against her mouth.

"Yes. But you know how much I love it when you dress all fancy."

Rolling her eyes, Jane stole another kiss, her hand resting on the back of Maura's neck to keep her close.

"I know how much you love taking fancy clothes _off_ of me."

Maura grinned lazily and went in for another kiss, this time she moved so that she was lying mostly on top of Jane, kissing her way along her strong jaw until she reached her ear.

"That, my darling, is just an added bonus." She nipped at Jane's earlobe. "But right now, let me make it up to you for mentioning your mother while in a state of undress."

Jane groaned and turned her face into Maura's hair. "You just did it _again_!"

-

The following day, Jane stood tapping her foot while Maura relayed their conversation to Angela at the precinct, in slightly more detail than necessary. She was sure her mother didn't need to hear that they had just 'indulged in some very satisfactory lovemaking' before they talked about her. But when Maura got to the part about dinner and drinks in a fancy-schmancy place, Angela clapped her hands together like a kindergartener, and a little of Jane's annoyance disappeared. It really seemed like the invitation made her Ma happy.

"I've never been for cocktails!" Angela's voice was high and excited like Jane hadn't heard in weeks. Maybe months. "We'll be just like those girls in Sex and the City!"

"Yes! Exactly like that!" Her Ma's excitement seemed to have transferred to Maura and Jane made a mental note to inform her girlfriend that there would be no sharing of sexual experiences at this dinner.

"I'd be the Samantha, I think." Angela ran a hand down her side in what Jane assumed was supposed to be a 'sexy' way. "'Cause I think I have a natural sensuality."

"Oh, Ma, ew." Jane's face twisted in disgust and she backed up a few steps. "I do not want to hear about your sensuality, natural or otherwise. I might lose my breakfast."

Maura looked at her sternly and grasped her hand, pulling her back to where she'd been. Angela continued on as if Jane hadn't spoken.

"You'd be the Charlotte, of course, Maura. And Janie would have to be the Miranda."

Having never seen a single episode of the show, Jane felt she might be at a distinct disadvantage in this conversation.

"Hey! I don't know any of these people so I don't know if I'm being insulted or not!" She nudged Maura. "Am I?"

"Miranda is very intelligent, sweetheart," Maura assured her, rubbing her arm.

"And crabby and sarcastic." Angela added. "And she wears men's suits."

Jane's mouth dropped open indignantly. Maura tilted her head to the side in thought.

"More so in the earlier seasons. Her style of dress did become more feminine as time moved on."

Folding her arms across her chest, Jane looked from her mother to her girlfriend. She raised an eyebrow.

"So, I'm the crabby, sarcastic, manly one? Really?"

Maura took hold of both of Jane's forearms, looking deep into her eyes. "Jane, you are in no way masculine."

She waited for elaboration. None came.

"But I'm crabby and sarcastic?"

Maura pressed her lips together. "You are occasionally irritable and often sarcastic." Jane smiled indulgently at Maura's attempt at tact, until her mother pitched in.

"Try _all_ the time."

"Hey!" Jane pointed an accusatory finger. "Do you _want_ me to get dressed up and go out for sissy drinks with you or not?"

"Of course I do." Angela grabbed Jane's face and pulled her in, smooshing a kiss against her cheek. "You're such a good daughter for doing this for your old spinster mother."

"Ma!" Jane protested, pushing her mother away and wiping at her cheek furiously. Angela just shrugged and did exactly the same to Maura, who not only welcomed the attention, but practically _glowed_ under it. Jane made a show of rolling her eyes and tugging on Maura's hand, but deep inside she was glad that her mother loved Maura. Maura deserved all the love in the world.

"Tomorrow at 7, Ma." Jane called over her shoulder as she dragged Maura out of the café. "I'll pick the two of you up at Maura's."

Her mother didn't reply, but instead starting making weird 'dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun' sounds.

"What is she doing?" Jane asked, speaking out the side of her mouth.

"I believe that is the 'Sex and the City' theme tune," Maura supplied, helpfully.

Jane punched the button for the elevator. "God help us all."

Later that night, they were brushing their teeth at the twin sinks in Maura's master bathroom. Jane finished first, as usual, and gargled with mouthwash before spitting and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She turned and leaned her hip against the counter, watching as Maura finished up, dabbing at her mouth daintily with a towel and picking up her moisturiser.

"I can't believe _you_ watched a bubblegum show like Sex and the City."

Maura paused with her hand midway to her face, a glob of white lotion on her outstretched fingers.

"I...watched for the shoes." She started rubbing moisturiser into her cheek, looking into the mirror to avoid Jane's disbelieving smirk.

"Is that like buying Playboy for the articles?"

Maura finished her skincare routine and turned to Jane, confused.

"Jane, I don't think people buy Playboy for the articles. I'm quite sure they buy it to look at pictures of naked women in provocative poses."

Jane threw up her hands in mock frustration, barking a laugh. "How do you even function in society?"

Maura just grinned and shrugged one shoulder. "I have you to help me."

Frustration, mock or not, disappeared and was replaced by the warm, gooey feeling in Jane's chest that appeared whenever Maura did something particularly adorable. She opened her arms and beckoned with her head.

"C'mere." Maura eagerly moved into her embrace, squeezing her tightly as Jane wrapped her arms around the shorter woman's shoulders. Burying her nose in Maura's hair, Jane let out a little chuckle.

"There's only one of you in the whole wide world, Maura Isles."

She lifted her head as Maura tilted her own back so that she could look up at Jane.

"That's true of everyone, Jane . We are all distinct beings with our own unique genetic make-up, except for monozygo-"

Sensing a lengthy dissertation on the composition and properties of DNA, Jane decided to interject. "Maura. Just let me kiss you, okay? And then take you to bed."

Maura grinned.

"I have no objection to that course of action."

-

Jane decided not to use the key she had for Maura's house, and instead rang the doorbell. She pulled at the hem of her dress, a little self conscious of the expanse of leg on show. Rather than wear one of the three dresses she already possessed, Jane had actually gone shopping and purchased a new one to surprise Maura with. She'd bought it in the same store her mother had got her 'little black dress' from because she liked the fit of that one. The new one was a striking red and came to the middle of her thigh. The top was one of those silly things that tied behind the neck and had no back. It had seemed really nice in the store, and the staff had fallen all over themselves gushing about it when she asked for their opinion, but she felt kinda exposed now that she was actually outside. She'd worn her hair down in somewhat tamed waves to give her a little more cover, but still, she was basically wearing a napkin and high heels.

Any reservations she might have had about the dress dissolved as soon as Maura opened the door. Instead of offering Jane her usual warm smile and kiss hello, Maura's jaw actually dropped when her eyes landed on the woman on her stoop. She openly dragged her gaze up and down Jane's body. Jane grinned and slowly turned around, hearing Maura_whimper_ as she caught a glimpse of her exposed back. Turning back to face the other woman, Jane gestured at herself.

"You like?"

Maura appeared to be incapable of speech, but she nodded vigorously. Jane laughed and held out the single red tulip she'd been twirling nervously between her fingers. "For you."

Reaching out to take the flower, Maura shook her head and looked up into Jane's eyes.

"You are breathtaking and you don't even know it."

This knocked Jane off-kilter again and she looked at her feet, shuffling them as a blush crept up her neck. Maura's hand on her chin brought her face back up to meet sparkling hazel eyes.

"I mean it, Jane. You are the reason designers make clothes. You're...there are no words to adequately convey how beautiful you are."

"Maura," Jane growled, her face approaching the colour of her dress. "Quit it. I scrub up pretty good. Let's just leave it at that." She let her eyes take in what the other woman had on; a deep blue silk dress with a daring neckline and ornate gold stitching on the straps. Jane smiled. "You, on the other hand, are stunning."

"Thank you," Maura said, dipping her head and looking up at Jane through her eyelashes. "Can I just..." She stepped closer to Jane and kissed her cheek, one hand sneaking around to rest on the bare skin of Jane's back. Maura smiled against her cheek. "Oh, I like this dress. I like this dress _very_ much."  
"Yeah, I thought you might." Jane turned to give Maura a real kiss.

"Janie!"

Jane groaned. Her mother really had the most unfortunate timing. She reluctantly drew away from Maura and turned to smile at Angela. "You look nice, Ma." Angela was wearing an elegant skirt suit in a dark green colour.

"_Me_? What about _you_?" Angela put a hand over her heart. "You know, Jane, sometimes I forget what a knockout you really are."

"Thanks…I think."

"Come here." Angela opened up her arms wide and Jane sighed, but let her mother hug her. She was less pleased when she was grabbed by the chin, her face forcibly turned towards Maura while her cheeks were squeezed.

"Isn't my daughter a looker, huh?"

Maura seemed to be amused by the display, but when she answered, it was earnest. "She most certainly is."

Shaking free of her mother's hold, Jane shook her head, looking from one to the other. "And you wonder why I don't wear stuff like this very often?"

Her mother looked at her like she was an idiot. "But Jane, if you did, we wouldn't have to make a big deal out of it, because it wouldn't be such a big change."

"Just…" She couldn't argue with the logic. "Just get in the car, Ma." She turned to Maura with a smile and held her arm out. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Maura took the offered arm and they headed out into the evening.

-

"Oh, Janie! Look at these drinks! They're so sophisticated. Cosmos!"

Jane eyed the glasses the waiter was distributing with disdain. "Is 'sophisticated' another word for 'little'? The price these are, I should be getting a _bucket_ of the stuff."

"Jane." Maura warned and Jane rolled her eyes, but smiled and kissed Maura's cheek.

"I'm sorry. I'll be good."

Jane took the teeny little straw between her fingers and sipped some of the pink liquid.

"Oh my God...that is disgusting!"

"Shut up, Jane! I'm sure it's lovely!" Angela took a sip, one of her eyes almost closed and her lips pursed up like she'd just sucked a lemon. "It's...lovely."

"It _is_ lovely." Maura agreed. "So many bartenders are too heavy with the cranberry juice and it can feel watered down. This one is just tart enough."

She looked between the two Rizzolis. "You don't like them?"

"I do!" Angela protested. "I do, I just...thought it would be sweeter."

"Oh, if you're looking for sweet, might I recommend a French Martini next? Delicious."

Jane slid her cocktail glass across the table to sit in front of Maura.

"You can have mine, I'm having a beer." Two sets of disapproving eyes turned on her. She sighed. "Jesus, I'll ask them to put it in a damn martini glass if that will make the two of you happier."

Maura's face softened and she put a hand on Jane's knee under the table. "You should drink what you want to drink, sweetie."

"Thank you." Jane watched her mother's face contort as she tried another sip of the drink in front of her. Reaching over she yanked it away and slid it over to Maura. "Have that one too."

Angela turned around in her seat to try to attract the waiter's attention. Maura looked at the three full glasses in front of her and then back at Jane with a teasing smile. "Why, Detective Rizzoli, are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Absolutely. How else am I gonna have my wicked way with you later?" Jane winked.

"I don't need to be drunk for that, Jane." Maura leaned in close. "I've been wet since I first laid eyes on you tonight."

Jane's eyes widened and she choked on thin air. Angela looked over at them curiously. "You okay, baby?"

"Uh, yeah…" Jane glared at Maura who was sipping on one of her cocktails, all innocence. "I'm…fine. Just get me a drink, Ma. I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

-

The bar had live jazz music after nine and the small dancefloor filled up quickly. Angela had been asked to dance by a few men and was currently occupied at the bar by a charming older gentleman. Jane was watching them, making sure he was not being inappropriate, when she felt a tug on her arm. She turned and smiled at the sight of Maura after a number of cocktails. She had a slight flush on her cheeks, her hair was just a little unruly and her smile was lopsided.

"Dance with me."

It wasn't a question. Jane's answer would have been 'yes' anyway. She allowed Maura to pull her to her feet and lead her out onto the crowded floor. When they found a space, Maura turned and melted against Jane. Her curves fit against Jane's perfectly and her head rested on her shoulder as they swayed to a slow, mellow number. Jane's hands found Maura's hips as Maura's arms wrapped around her back, hands splayed open on the bare skin there. They swayed together as the song stretched out, content to communicate with touch. Jane closed her eyes and kissed Maura's forehead.

As the last few notes of the song lingered in the air, Maura looked up and smiled. "Thank you for the dance."

"I think you did most of the dancing. I just kinda leaned." Jane dipped her head and kissed Maura's nose. "Thank you for tonight. I think Ma's really enjoyed herself. And…so have I. We need to do this more, _without_ my mother."

"Do what?" Maura led them back to their table.

"Go out. Be us. Without being on call or being all wound up about a case." Jane sat down heavily and Maura pushed her own chair nearer before taking a seat.

"Is this _Jane Rizzoli_ saying that she wants to improve her work/life balance?" Maura asked, pretending to be aghast.

Jane bumped their shoulders together. "Shut up."

"Sorry." Maura settled against Jane, linking their fingers loosely. "I'm in favour of more time for ourselves."

"Then it's settled." Jane nodded.

"Oh my God my feet are killing me!" Angela plonked down into her chair. "These shoes look pretty but they are _not_comfortable at all." She looked over at Maura. "How do you _wear_ these all the time?"

"Practise," Maura said with a shrug.

"Yeah, well I don't think I wanna practise much more tonight, I think we should get going. They're hurting my corns." Angela slipped her shoes off and breathed a sigh of relief. "George gave me his number, we're going to play bridge next week some time." Then she sighed again, for a different reason. "These 'hold it all in' panties make me need to pee a lot. I'll be right back."

Jane watched her mother hobble off to the bathroom and nudged Maura.

"Corns, bridge dates and 'hold it in' panties." She quirked an eyebrow. "So, are we living the 'Sex and the City' lifestyle or what?"

Maura just laughed and kissed her. "I think this is more 'Sexagenarian and the City' to be honest."

Jane perked up. "Hey! You made a joke! And it was almost funny!"

Maura narrowed her eyes. "It _was_ funny."

"Mildly."

"Very."

"Maura, for you, it was hilarious."

"Thank you." A pause. "Hey!"


	6. Hot Chocolate

"Where are you now?"

Maura reached over and placed a calming hand on Jane's thigh, rubbing gently. They were driving home from the station, having both opted to leave work a little early. It had snowed heavily all morning, and though it had stopped, it had made the roads treacherous. Angela had been calling them every few minutes to make sure they hadn't died and it was beginning to wear on Jane's nerves. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly they were leaving clear indents in the soft leather. Maura decided it was better if she answered the disembodied voice coming through the loudspeaker in the car.

"Angela, we are two blocks away and travelling at an average of 6 miles an hour due to the weather conditions. We should be with you in roughly five minutes. If we are any longer than that, you're very welcome to check on our progress. Is that alright?"

"I...I just worry about you girls. There's accidents all over the news and I want you both off the streets."

"Ma, you heard Maura, we'll be there soon. You're distracting us by yakking on the phone!"

"Okay, I'm hanging up. I'll see you soon. God willing."

Maura stifled a chuckle as Jane mumbled obscenities under her breath. She squeezed Jane's leg again.

"It's because she cares."

"It's because she's insane."

Maura had learned not to react to the majority of Jane's jibes about her mother. She knew Jane didn't mean them and that they came from affection rather than irritation. Most of the time.

Maura took a moment just to look at Jane. They had been dating for a little over six months and Maura had never been happier in her entire life. Dating Jane was similar to being Jane's best friend, with a few very enjoyable additions. Jane was concentrating on the road, her eyebrows were drawn together, a few lines clearly visible between them. The appearance of those lines generally meant that Jane was worried, confused or concentrating. Maura recognised the urge to kiss them away, but discarded it as a safety risk at this moment in time.

"What?"

Jane's voice startled Maura out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"You're staring." Jane's voice carried that edge of amusement that it often did when she spoke to Maura and, as always, it made Maura smile.

"I'm allowed to stare. You're very pleasing to look at."

"So this is a 'you're gorgeous' stare and not a 'You have a skin disorder' stare, huh?" Jane threw a grin at her. "I'm still learning to tell the difference between those two."

"Jane! I've never told you you had a skin disorder!" In fact, Jane's skin was surprisingly soft and free from flaws, considering the amount of effort she expended on taking care of it, which was practically nil.

"I guess that's true. You just point out my dark naso…juggling folds, occasionally."

"Only out of concern for your wellbeing." Maura frowned, not bothering to correct Jane's mangling of anatomical terms. She scratched Jane's leg lightly through her pants. "And you'd _want_ me to tell you if you had a skin disorder, wouldn't you?"

Turning away from the road for a disconcertingly long time, Jane gave her one of those smiles that made Maura appreciate all of the ridiculous metaphors she'd heard applied to love over the years. Weak knees, fluttering hearts, butterflies. Yes, looking at Jane Rizzoli made Maura want to use metaphors. Because although she could rhyme off the reactions in her body and the various chemicals released to cause them, they did not adequately describe what she _felt_.

"Diagnose away, babe. You won't frighten me off."

Maura dipped her head, a little bashful at Jane's recognition of how she had spent the early part of their friendship. She had pushed Jane's boundaries, mainly by being totally herself, to see whether Jane would be like everyone else and retreat. Jane had confounded previous test results and not only stuck around, but actively sought to spend time with Maura. Satisfied with the outcome, Maura's confidence in her relationship with Jane had become firmer, long before they'd taken things to the romantic stage. She gave Jane a smile in return.

"I know I won't. Please look at the road, Jane."

Jane laughed and shook her head, but turned back to the road. She took one hand off the wheel to squeeze Maura's briefly. "Good. As long as you know."

They turned onto Maura's street and both of them let out a sigh of relief as her house loomed into view. Maura frowned.

"The driveway is clear."

"Ma must've had Tommy do it." Jane turned into the completely clear driveway and switched off the engine. "Good to know she's putting him to use."

Jane opened her door and Maura did likewise, stepping out into the clear, brittle air and shivering a little from the change in temperature. Jane looked at her across the roof of the car and smiled.

"I hope Ma's got the hot chocolate read-" The rest of her sentence was cut off when a perfectly formed ball of snow connected with her face. Maura gasped at the sneak attack.

"Jane, are you alright?"

But Jane had already rounded the car to stand beside Maura, bending to scoop up a handful of snow, a huge grin on her face.

"Tommy? Where the hell are you? Come out and fight fair!"

Another ball of snow hit Jane on the side of her head, coming from a completely different angle. Maura stepped closer to Jane, a gloved hand gripping the back of her jacket.

"What's going on?" She had been looking forward to a nice afternoon with Jane, spent inside, wearing warm clothing and watching movies. She had not expected to be ambushed and attacked by missiles made of snow.

Jane turned to look at her; all the while her hands were crafting a perfect sphere out of the freshly fallen snow.

"Snowball fig-"

A twin attack took Jane off-guard as she was hit on both sides of her head at the same time. She ducked down behind the car, pulling Maura with her so that they were both crouching. Jane shook her head to get the snow out of her hair and probably her ears too. Maura shivered in sympathy.

"Jesus, Frankie must be here too."

Having never had brothers or sisters, Maura couldn't imagine someone laying in wait to attack her upon her return from work. But Jane seemed to be positively thrilled by it.

"If we keep our bodies in a crouched position and move quickly, we can probably be in the house before they're able to accurately pinpoint our location."

Jane looked at her like she was insane.

"Run _away_? No way, Maur. We gotta stand our ground. This is _war_. I need you on my side."

Maura wanted nothing more than to get into her warm, dry house and out of the path of cold, wet balls of snow. But Jane was looking at her with big, excited eyes and Maura did not want to be the one to make that look go away. She fought valiantly to think of something that would make Jane reconsider the activity. Then it occurred to her; the perfect plan. She ducked her head and looked up at Jane through her eyelashes. She made sure her brow was creased slightly and her lower lip protruded just before she spoke.

"You're going to allow your brothers to hit me with tightly packed handfuls of snow?"

She waited for Jane's protective side to prevail. Much to her dismay, it did not.

"Uh, yeah. It's _snow_, Maura, not lead." Jane risked a quick peek over the top of the car before crouching back down beside Maura. "And I am _not_ letting my little brothers beat us. I have _never_ lost a snowball fight. So arm yourself and on my count, you throw left and I'll throw right."

Maura looked at her Gucci gloves and then at the snow. She glanced over at Jane. Clearly this required another tactic.

"You've seen me throw a softball, haven't you?"

This appeared to give Jane pause. But not for long, in the end, she put a hand on Maura's shoulder and squeezed. "Just…try, okay? Distract them, if nothing else. I'll do the hard work."

Another two snowballs sailed over their heads.

"Get out here, Janie. Or are you gonna hide behind your girlfriend's car like a pussy all day?"

Maura gasped and stood up, without thinking.

"Tommy! Langua-" She didn't get to finish as a projectile of snow impacted with her nose at quite an impressive velocity. The ball crumbled upon impact, sending snow into her eyes, her hair and her mouth. She spluttered and tried to wipe it away with a gloved hand so that she could open her eyes. "Jane! He hit me in the face!"

But Jane wasn't where Maura had left her. She'd bounded out from her hiding place and was now engaging Tommy in the open. She watched for a moment as they hurled snowballs and insults back and forth; appreciating the athleticism of their long, lean bodies as they moved with ease around the garden, bending and scooping and throwing all in a fluid motion. She was so absorbed in the spectacle, she forgot about the other hidden assailant until she saw a flash of black to her right; Frankie was sneaking up on Jane. Her first instinct was to call out and warn Jane, but instead she found herself stooping and gathering up snow and forming it into the required shape. Without thinking, she launched it at Frankie's head, expecting it to sail past. It didn't. It hit him square in the temple, causing him to stumble.

"Oh! Frankie! I'm so sorry!" She rushed forward to his aid, ignoring Jane's incredulous expression.

"Don't apologise to him, Maur!"

Frankie turned to her and grinned. "Hell of an arm there, Maura." He raised his own arm; he had a snowball in his hand. "Glad you could join us." And he threw it at her. She turned so that it glanced off her shoulder but she turned to him with a wicked smile. Then Tommy hit her with another snowball and the fight began in earnest. Maura had no idea where she was aiming or who she was hitting or who was hitting her. She was sure that she mistakenly hit Jane a couple of times in the melee, but it didn't seem to matter. Her hands were stiff and wet and her nose was almost painfully cold, but she kept going, laughing and goading with the best of them.

When fatigue started to set in with all of the participants, Maura assumed that they would come to a gentleman's agreement to call the 'fight' a tie and then move into the house. But when Tommy raised his eyebrows at Frankie and then gestured to Jane, Maura knew something was about to happen.

"Frosticles?" Frankie asked with a grin.

"No!" Jane started backing up. "Guys, come on! What are we? Twelve?"

Tommy nodded, but instead of heading for Jane, as Maura assumed they would, they both ran straight for her. She had no idea what was happening, and her body was too cold to react quickly enough, so before she knew it, she was being held with her back against Frankie's front, his arms tight around her torso so that she couldn't move. Tommy was holding two handfuls of snow and smiling at Jane who appeared horrified.

"No! Let her go! Don't you dare!"

Maura struggled against the hold Frankie had on her, but it was futile. She had no idea what this was about, but Jane was very agitated about it. Tommy inched closer to Maura, grinning all the way.

"You can stop us, Janie. You just gotta say the word."

Even from a fair distance, Maura could see Jane's jaw clench, her hands were balled into fists at her side. Jane was _not_happy. Tommy moved closer still and suddenly Jane's hands were in the air, empty.

"Okay, okay! I surrender, I give up. Now let her go."

Even without Tommy and Frankie's twin whoops of victory, Maura knew exactly how much Jane had just given up for her. And it was far more than this silly snowball game. Jane had just allowed herself to _lose_ at something, to her _brothers_, just to save Maura from whatever fate awaited her. The reputational damage and potential for ongoing teasing were tremendous and Maura felt humbled by the sacrifice, which she would never have understood a year previously.

"Frankie Rizzoli! You let go of Maura right now!" Angela's dulcet tones cut into the proceedings. Immediately she was freed from Frankie's grasp and she turned to see the formidable Rizzoli matriarch standing on the porch with her hands on her hips. Angela turned her attention to Jane. "It's bad enough that _you_ insist on roughhousing with your brothers but now you gotta bring poor Maura into it too? Get in here, all of you! I'm making hot chocolate and there's a movie starting on TV."

Frankie and Tommy did as they were told, trudging to the door. Tommy turned and stuck his tongue out at Jane over his shoulder. Jane just glared at him. Angela slapped Frankie and Tommy on the back of their heads as they passed her, and was obviously waiting to do the same to Jane. She decided to intervene. She walked over to Jane and took her hand, turning back to call out to Angela.

"We'll be in in a minute, Angela."

"Okay, sweetie. Don't be too long. You look half frozen!" And with that, she retreated into the warmth, leaving Jane and Maura alone in the snowy garden. Maura turned to look up at Jane, unable to keep the adoring smile off her face. Jane noticed it and frowned.

"What?" she grunted.

"I love you." It hadn't been what she planned to say, but it would do. And it got Jane smiling.

"Yeah? Well, I love you too. And I hope you know that I jus-"

Maura had pulled off her soaking wet glove and she held a trembling finger up to cover Jane's cold lips.

"I know exactly what you did. Thank you." She replaced her finger with her lips, her own cold lips covering Jane's for a brief moment; their frigid noses rubbing together for warmth. Jane smiled against her cheek.

"You're worth it." The mumbled words were soft, but they made Maura tingle with joy.

"While I'm not really sure of the weighting system you're using to allocate worth to both me and the teasing you are sure to encounter from you broth-"

"Maura!"

Maura pulled away with her lips clamped tightly together, to find Jane shaking her head and smiling.

"This is one of those times where close analysis of your words detracts from the romance of the situation, isn't it?"

"Li'l bit," Jane said, tilting her head to the side.

Nodding, Maura moved closer to Jane for warmth, shivering a little. "Oh, Jane, I meant to ask…what were they going to do to me?"

Obviously feeling the shiver, Jane dropped a kiss on Maura's head and then took her hand, leading her in the direction of the house.

"They were gonna…stuff snow…into your underwear."

Maura stopped walking, pulling Jane to a halt with her. "Are you serious?"

Nodding sheepishly, Jane gave a little shrug. "Yeah…I…was actually the one who started it when we were younger. Hence the name…Frosticles. 'Cause it gave them…"

"Yes, Jane, I can work out the etymology of the word." Maura shook her head in wonder. "Sometimes I'm not at all sorry that I was an only child."

They walked to the door and took off their footwear and outdoor jackets. Jane shook her hair to get the last icy remnants of the fight out.

"Man, I'm cold now."

The adrenaline of the activities was wearing off and Maura could feel her own outer body temperature dropping. She nodded.

"Me too." She reached for the doorknob, but paused and looked back at Jane. "Thank you for saving me from the Frosticles. But I think you should know that your actions have had the opposite effect." Off Jane's confused look, Maura reached up to cup her chin and drag her in for a kiss, pulling away enough to whisper. "Inside my underwear is very hot and very wet right now."

Jane gasped and started coughing and spluttering. Having achieved the desired impact, Maura walked into the house, casting a seductive look over her shoulder. Angela was in the kitchen, stirring a pan on the stove. Tommy and Frankie were sprawled on opposite ends of the couch, watching television.

"Jane and I are going to take a shower. We won't be long."

Her announcement was met by a series of mumbled acknowledgements and a deep blush from Jane. Maura loved drawing these reactions from her and did so at every opportunity. It wasn't as if Jane's family didn't know that they had sex. But, despite her embarrassment, Jane took her hand and obediently followed along behind Maura as she headed to the master bedroom. Maura smiled to herself.

-

With the door firmly closed, Maura found herself thrown down onto the bed, with Jane crawling on top of her.

"God, Doctor Isles, you drive me fucking wild. You know that?"

Making short work of the buttons on Jane's shirt, Maura rolled them over and put her hands flat against Jane's abdomen, making her hiss. Maura watched in fascination as goosebumps rose up at her touch and Jane's nipples, already erect, hardened further, straining against her bra. All at once, she rolled off Jane completely and stood up at the side of the bed. Jane actually howled.

"Where are you _going_?"

Maura started to undress herself, carefully taking her arm out of the sweater she was wearing.

"Our clothes are damp and cold. It's difficult to remove clothing when it's like that. And I really like this sweater and don't want you to stretch it beyond repair. I suggest you get up and take your clothes off too."

Jane lay back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. "Wow. _'I suggest you take your clothes off'_. How alluring."

Maura rolled her eyes because Jane was already undoing the button on her pants. It took a few minutes, but soon Maura was slipping her panties off. As she stood up, Jane was at her back. An arm slid around her waist and warm lips descended on her neck. She reached back and tangled her hand in Jane's hair, keeping her in place. She moaned as Jane's hand dragged up her torso to cup one of her breasts.

"Jane." Her voice was a whimper as Jane ran her tongue over her quickening carotid pulse. She felt movement and then Jane was walking, pushing Maura in front of her, until they were in front of the full-length mirror that stood by Maura's dressing table. Maura inhaled involuntarily at the picture before her.

Jane's arm stood out in stark contrast to her own skin; a stripe of olive through milky white. Some of Jane's hair was spilling over her shoulder, mixing with her own. Maura's eyes drank in the spectacle greedily, her need starting to pulsate between her legs. She looked up and caught Jane's eye in the mirror. She smiled and was granted one in return. Then both of Jane's hands moved to her breasts, cupping them and rolling them, pulling Maura back harder against her firm body. The combination of Jane's warm torso and cold extremities added another dimension to the sensation of being touched. Maura watched in the mirror, transfixed by her own reactions.

"So, Doctor, is this a touch of narcissism, d'you think?" Maura could hear the smirk in Jane's voice. She bit her lip as Jane pinched her nipple.

"While the myth of Narcissus did involve him falling in love with his own reflection, it was really as a punishment for his pride and disdain for others. And the term is used in popular psychology for a number o-"

"Touch yourself."

Maura didn't need further urging, though she did take a second to note with satisfaction that Jane was getting much better at asking for things in the bedroom. Maura had initially been surprised by Jane's willingness to just go along with Maura's direction. Maura had never been shy of talking during sex; she liked to give feedback and offer constructive criticism where necessary. But Jane had been reserved, quiet even, when they first starting sleeping together. Maura had worried that Jane wasn't enjoying herself, though her bodily reactions would indicate quite the opposite. But as time went on, and with a little encouragement, Jane had started to be more vocal, more open about what she wanted and how she wanted it. And Maura had discovered quite a penchant for Jane talking dirty.

Jane's hands had been entirely successful in arousing her to the point where she was pressing her thighs together to relieve the ache. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief as her fingers made their way between wet folds, immediately finding the source of her need.

"Uh, uh, uh. Open your eyes. I want you to watch."

Struggling to concentrate while being subjected to a barrage of sensations, Maura obeyed. "Oh...Jane." Seeing Jane's hands on her body from this new angle was intensely erotic and she increased the pace of her hand between her legs. With every breath, she felt Jane's breasts pushing against her back, and when Jane's hand started a slow trail down her belly, Maura whimpered.

Jane's hand came to cover Maura's own, tangling their fingers together as they moved in tandem. Maura bit her lip, trying to draw out the experience. Jane's hips had started thrusting gently against her ass and Maura could barely manage to keep herself upright. "I'm...not...going to last."

"That's lucky." Jane's voice was deeper, huskier than normal and it seemed to reverberate through Maura's chest. "'Cause I'm gonna come just from touching you. And that could be embarrassing."

Hearing Jane say 'come' sent a jolt of arousal through Maura and she shifted the position of their joint hands, pressing Jane's fingers against her. She mewled in pleasure as Jane entered her, easily finding a rhythm.

"It wouldn't be embarrassing, darling. I would be flattered."

Jane bit her shoulder playfully. Maura allowed more of her weight to rest against Jane, confident that she'd be held up. She turned her face away from the mirror to nuzzle into Jane's cheek. "And anyway, you survived the embarrassment of the strap-on incident, I'm sure you'd survive this."

Jane's hand stopped moving and Maura frowned. She looked back into the mirror to find Jane looking back at her, incredulous.

"Really? You're bringing that up _now_?" Though she hadn't removed her hand, she wasn't doing anything with it. Maura used her own hand to urge her to keep moving.

"I'm sorry. Can you please keep going? I'm really very close to an orgasm..."

Jane sighed, but started stroking Maura again, still frowning into the mirror.

"I hadn't used one before."

"I know, sweetie. Oh...yes, there..."

"The instructions weren't clear."

"I know...you...God, yes, keep doing that..."

"How was I supposed to know how to put it on?"

"You...you weren't...harder, Jane."

Jane drove her fingers deep and curled them, hitting Maura's sensitive spot and applying pressure with the heel of her hand. Maura cried out as pleasure took over her senses, her hips continued to move erratically against Jane's hand as Jane slowed down her thrusts. Sighing with relief, Maura leaned back against her lover, closing her eyes as Jane kissed her cheek and her neck.

"So it wasn't my fault that it was upside down...though I _did_ kinda wonder why it was facing that way." The throaty words were spoken directly into her ear and Maura couldn't help the chuckle that erupted out of her mouth. With difficulty, she turned in Jane's arms and looked up at her.

"Did you think it would perk up if I rubbed it?"

Jane pinched her side and Maura squealed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She reached behind Jane's neck to pull her into a long kiss. "That was amazing. _You_ are amazing." She started to walk, forcing Jane to back up, towards the bathroom. "And now we're going to get into the shower, and I'm going to show you how amazing I think you are."

-

Maura pulled on a pair of old, worn jeans before shrugging into Jane's Boston PD softball shirt. She watched Jane finish drying her hair, dressed in similarly casual attire. She walked over and stood behind her, taking the brush out of her hand and running it through the long, dark locks. Jane smiled at her in the mirror.

"You look happy."

"I am _very_ happy."

Jane tipped her head back so that it rested against Maura's abdomen. "Good to know." She took the brush out of Maura's hand and put it on the dresser. "And as much as I would enjoy making you happy for the rest of the evening, you just know Ma's gonna come knocking on that door if we're not out there soon."

Laughing softly, Maura stroked Jane's cheek and leaned down to give her a kiss.

"You're probably right. C'mon, you promised me hot chocolate."

Jane stood and took Maura's hand, leading her out of the bedroom and down the hall. Reaching the living room, Maura was met by what had become a familiar sight; her couch was full of Rizzolis with their eyes glued to the television. Angela sat between her two boys, with Tommy's arm around her shoulders and Frankie's head resting against her own. Jane cleared her throat and the three of them looked up and shuffled along, leaving enough room for one person to take a seat. Jane sat down between Frankie and the arm of the couch and Maura immediately took up residence on her lap, arranging herself so that they were both comfortable and could see the TV. Maura didn't recognise the movie that was playing, but it was black and white and involved snow, so it fit the mood perfectly.

"Ma, didn't you say something about hot chocolate?" Jane rubbed her hand up Maura's back, under her shirt, causing her to shiver.

"I figured the two of you were warmed up by now. You were _showering_ for a really long time."

The implication was clear, and Maura pressed a kiss to Jane's flaming red cheek before responding.

"Jane and I are very warm now, but we would still love some of your special hot chocolate, Angela. I don't know how you do it, but your hot chocolate always tastes so much better than everyone else's."

Angela beamed over at Maura. "It's so lovely to have someone who appreciates me." She cast a look between her three children. "Makes a change." She pushed herself up off the couch and right away Tommy and Frankie started fighting over the extra room. Angela ruffled Maura's hair on the way past. "You're such a good girl."

Shaking her head, Jane squeezed Maura's waist. "You got her wrapped around your little finger, huh?"

Maura suppressed the smile that threatened to appear, an instead busied herself with picking lint off Jane's old t-shirt.

"You're one to talk, Janie." Tommy piped up. "Or was that somebody else who _gave up_ a snowball fight today?"

Wholly prepared for Jane to start sulking again, Maura was surprised to see an affectionate smile on her face instead.

"Tommy, maybe one day you'll be lucky enough to find somebody who makes you want to submit every now and then."

"Oh, Jane." Maura covered her heart with her hand. "That was lovely."

"That better not be another reference to your sex life," Frankie mumbled.

"Wha-...oh, Jesus. No!" Jane whacked Frankie's shoulder while Tommy made a lewd expression on the other side of him.

"Jane and I are both very domina-" Maura started, but was cut off by Jane's hand covering her mouth.

"No, Maura. I mean it. No."

"Jane! Stop roughhousing with Maura!"

Jane pouted in the direction of the kitchen. "But Ma!"

"Yes, stop roughhousing with me!" Maura said, poking Jane in the ribs and leaning in closer. "Or at least wait until we're alone."

A tray of hot chocolate appeared on the coffee table, effectively silencing Jane. They all picked up a mug, and Frankie and Tommy once again made room for Angela. Once they were settled, Maura took a moment to look around the room. The light was fading outside the windows, but the street lights and the snow cast a soft glow over the room. The volume on the TV was low and everyone was warm and safe. Maura leaned her head on Jane's and sighed happily, sipping her hot chocolate. While there was no empirical measure for it, Maura allowed herself a moment of whimsy where she imagined that what she was feeling must be very close to perfect happiness.


	7. Champagne

It all started on a Friday night. Work was relatively quiet, and after a few drinks at the Robber, Jane and Maura had come back to Maura's place and ended up lying on the couch with the TV on and Chinese food cartons littering the coffee table. Jane pressed a kiss against Maura's curls, smiling into her hair as she shifted; trying to get closer even though she was already practically lying on top of Jane. Lips brushed Jane's neck, a tongue ghosted over the faint scar there eliciting a shiver.

Jane closed her eyes, smiling wider. They'd been together almost a year, and Maura still could still make her shiver with the gentlest of touches. Jane had always known Maura was different; that she _felt_ differently about Maura than she had any of her other 'relationships'. She was reluctant to call them that these days, because they didn't even come close to what she shared with Maura. When they first got together, Jane had a niggling concern that she'd grow bored and restless, as she always did. Then she reminded herself that she'd been 'with' Maura in some way, shape or form for_years_ and hadn't grown bored. After that, Jane had relaxed into the relationship and let it happen. And, a year down the line, she couldn't imagine ever tiring of the woman in her arms. She couldn't imagine ever being _without_ the woman in her arms.

Unconsciously, the thought made Jane hold Maura closer, making her groan.

"Not so tight, sweetie. I ate too much."

Jane laughed and turned slowly so that Maura was forced to slide off of her until they ended up lying facing each other. Jane's arm was loosely draped over Maura's hip. Their noses were almost touching on the shared cushion.

Jane sighed, unable to help her happy smile. "Hey."

Maura smiled in return and reached up to brush some hair from Jane's forehead, watching her hand as it raked through Jane's tangled mane. "Hey."

Having known Maura for so long, Jane could tell that she had something she wanted to say, but was unsure how to broach the subject.

"What's up?"

Maura's eyes snapped to meet Jane's, her mouth forming a surprised 'o' before sliding into an affectionate smile.

"Am I so very obvious?"

"To me you are." Jane tweaked Maura's nose. "But then, I make it a habit to study you as closely as I can. As often as I can. I'm pretty sure I'm majoring in Maurology."

"That's not a real word, Jane." But Maura was smiling.

"Well it should be. I'm gonna suggest it to Harvard. Because you're way more interesting than all that other geeky stuff that people study. But anyway, you want to talk."

Immediately, Maura's eyes dipped. Jane frowned until she looked up again, concerned about what would make Maura reluctant to talk to her. She hooked her arm more tightly around Maura's waist, pulling her in so that they were as close as they possibly could be.

"Hey, it's me." Her voice was gentle, cajoling. "You don't have to worry about talking to me about anything." Jane paused. "Unless, that is, you're...breaking up with me..."

Maura looked up, horrified. "Oh, Jane! I would _never_...how could you even _think_...that is just too _awful_ to..."

Jane halted the string of incomplete sentences – almost un_heard_ of from Maura – with a kiss. A soft, firm, reassuring kiss. When they parted, Jane grinned.

"I know, I was kidding." She winked. "But now whatever you want to talk about probably doesn't seem so bad, huh?"

Forehead wrinkled, Maura shoved Jane's shoulder.

"That was not funny."

"It was a little funny."

"It was not. Maybe I _will_ break up wi-..." Maura stopped and drew in a deep, steadying breath, her fingers twisted tightly Jane's shirt. "No, I can't even joke about it."

Jane shrugged. "That doesn't really make it much different from any other subject, does it?"

"Are you intent on verbally abusing me for the _entire_ evening or will you be taking a break any time soon?" Maura's exaggerated pout made Jane bite her lip to stop from laughing.

"I'm sorry. I've stopped. What did you want to talk about?"

Maura grew sombre again. She brought a hand up to caress Jane's cheek.

"I love you."

Hearing those words made Jane want to do a victory dance around the room, every time. But she decided that Maura still needed to lighten up a bit with whatever this thing was she wanted to say.

"Uh huh...I love you too. This isn't groundbreaking news, sweetie." She offered a cheeky smile. "Not that I want you to stop saying it, but it doesn't require the dramatic build up anymore."

Maura, as she was so adept at doing, completely ignored Jane.

"It's my birthday next month..."

"I know it is." She _did_ know, though she hadn't really given it much thought.

"And I know you don't like to talk about money..."

Jane immediately tensed. She was still uncomfortable during discussions that had anything to do with money. She had gotten better at it since they'd started dating, but she still didn't like it. Maura knew this.

"...And I'm not going to make you...but I just want to tell you that I don't want you becoming stressed about buying me something for my birthday. I don't need anything. I have you and that's the greatest gift I could ever ask for." She traced her fingers over Jane's cheek. "So for my birthday, all I want is to be with you, okay?"

As Maura spoke, Jane's eyes had filled with tears, which she tried to blink away. She closed the minute distance so that their noses bumped together, their shared breath warm between them. Running a hand up Maura's back, Jane sighed.

"Maur..." She coughed to clear the lump from her throat. "Don't let me run my mouth when you're about to say really nice stuff like that."

Following the outline of Jane's lips with the tip of her index finger, Maura shook her head. "I love your mouth."

Jane kissed the finger on her lips.

"I love your everything. And don't worry about your birthday. 'Cause it is gonna be the best birthday ever."

Maura broke into a bright smile. "Of course it will be. Because I have you."

This time, Jane couldn't stop a tear from escaping. She closed her eyes, letting out a shaky laugh.

"Jesus, you're determined to turn me into a huge sap, huh?"

"Oh, Jane..." Maura's whisper breezed across her lips. "You've always been a huge sap. I just bring it out in you."

Jane opened her eyes and looked into Maura's own, sparkling with mischief. She thought about protesting, but then shrugged.

"I guess that's true." She frowned. "But don't tell anyone."

Maura grinned and pushed on Jane's shoulder until she was flat on her back. Maura crawled on top of her. "Cross my heart." She made an 'x' over her chest. Jane lifted her head slightly. "X marks the spot..." and she placed her lips on the warm skin of Maura's chest.

-

Later that night, as Maura lay asleep in her arms, Jane started to think about the implications of their earlier conversation. Maura's birthday was approaching. It would be the first time they'd been together on Maura's birthday. Maura was incredibly wealthy and could buy herself pretty much anything she wanted. Jane, while she had some savings, was a cop and earned a cop's salary. Every other year, she had mostly bought Maura gag gifts or little tokens of affection. That wouldn't cut it this year.

She thought back to what Maura had said and smiled. It was so like Maura to not want Jane to worry. At Christmas, both Tommy and Angela were having money problems, so Maura had suggested that rather than shop for everyone, they all buy a $20 gift that could suit anyone and on Christmas they would put them in a box and pick one out. Jane had been touched and surprised by the gesture but Maura had just shrugged and said she never wanted anyone to feel awkward or embarrassed because of money.

Overcome with a surge of love, Jane pressed her lips against Maura's forehead, hard enough to disturb the sleeping woman who snuggled even closer to Jane.

"S'that for?"

Jane smiled against Maura's skin. "Do I need a reason?"

"Mmmmnope." Maura threw a leg over both of Jane's and curled further into her. "Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie."

Yep, Jane thought, she was going to make sure Maura had the best birthday ever. Now all she had to do was think of a gift to get for her that didn't cost the earth and was meaningful. Closing her eyes, Jane decided to sleep on it. She had plenty of time.

-

_Home call mr indeed us hope._

Jane sighed and held her phone to Maura to take as they walked into the precinct together a few days later. "Translation, please."

Maura took the phone, glanced at the screen and smiled. "Honey, call me, I need your help."

Jane took the phone back, holding it between her thumb and forefinger like it was poisoned. "That's never good."

"I'd love to come with you to see what she needs, but I have paperwork I need to get done this morning because_someone_ dragged me home early last night."

Grabbing Maura's arm, Jane pulled her to a halt. "Hey, you tell whoever this is that's dragging you places that I'll kick their ass."

Going up on her tiptoes, Maura kissed Jane quickly. "I'll be sure to pass on that message. My hero." She started to walk away in the direction of the elevator. "Good luck with your mother. You can tell me about it when you bring me my coffee."

"Yeah, yeah, abandon me in my hour of need and then demand coffee, why don't you?"

Maura winked at her. "I just did."

Jane watched the elevator doors close and couldn't help the soft smile that touched her lips. With a sigh, she turned and headed to the café to face whatever crisis her mother had conjured up.

-

She'd barely taken a step inside before her mother's voice rang out.

"Jane, oh thank God!"

Trying not to sigh, she made her way to the counter and leaned on her elbows.

"Good morning to you too, Ma. And please tell me this isn't another car emergency? Those never end well for me."

Memories of having to rescue her mother's Buick from a sleazy car dealer and then having an even sleazier mechanic offer to lick Maura's face danced through her head. She shuddered visibly at the last one.

"No, this is nothing to do with cars." Angela thrust a cup of coffee at Jane. "And it's actually kinda your fault, so you need to help me."

"My fault?" Jane was confused. Generally she was aware of when she'd done something likely to piss her mother off. More often than not, it involved getting herself injured.

Angela mirrored Jane's pose across the counter from her. "I don't know what to get Maura for her birthday."

For a second, Jane was thrown, wondering if her mother had completely changed the subject and had been carrying on a whole different conversation without her noticing. "Maura's birthday? It's my fault you don't know what to get for Maura's birthday?"

"Uh huh. If you weren't dating her, I wouldn't have this problem." Angela somehow made this sound like the most logical thing in the world.

"So...I'm at fault for dating Maura because you can't decide what to get her for her birthday?"

This drew a disapproving 'tsk' from her mother. "Don't say it like that, Jane. You know I _adore_ Maura." Angela threw up her hands in defeat. "I just have no idea what to get her for her birthday. "

Jane sighed and rubbed her eye with one hand, while taking a long gulp of coffee. Maura's words from the previous evening came back to her.

"She wouldn't want you stressing over what do get her for her birthday. Just get her whatever."

Angela tipped her head to the side and pursed her lips in thought.

"You know, Carla Talucci's daughter was wearing this really ni-"

Slightly too late, Jane realised she'd left the field just a bit too wide open for her mother.

"Stop right there, Ma. Do _not_ buy her clothes."

While Maura would accept any gift from anyone with grace and gratitude, her mother's tastes were not exactly in line with Maura's. And she didn't want Maura getting hives from insisting on wearing a fabric that she wouldn't normally wear, just so that she could please Angela.

"Oh, so we go from 'get her whatever' to 'don't get her this' and 'don't get her that'."

"Ma, you spend more time with Maura than you spend with me. You _know_ her. Get something that means something to you both. She'll love it. And she wouldn't want you taking out a loan to get it, either."

"Yeah, I guess..." Angela trailed off, her eyes focussed somewhere in the distance.

"While you're thinking, gimme another coffee. Her Highness wants hers delivered to the morgue."

Watching her mother pour the coffee, Jane pondered her own situation. She knew Maura better than anyone. They had shared so much over the time they'd known each other that there were bound to be _hundreds_ of meaningful gifts she could give. But for some reason, she couldn't think of a single one.

Oh well, she still had time.

-

Jane was in the kitchen, elbow deep in a huge pan of tomato sauce, when Maura came in with several bags from stores Jane had only recently learned how to pronounce. Joe Friday ran to greet her, yipping excitedly as Maura stooped to pet the little dog.

"Hey girl, did you miss me?"

"Yes, she did." Maura looked over with a grin as she scooped Joe up using her free arm. She made her way to Jane's side, stretching up to kiss her cheek as she continued to stir the vat of sauce she'd created.

"How do you know she missed me?" Maura asked, trying to keep Joe from licking her face.

"Because she looked at me funny when I came home without you. Like she was accusing me of something." Jane glared playfully at the diminutive canine. "Guess we know who her favourite is."

Maura laughed and bumped Jane's hip with her own as she placed Joe back on the floor and dropped her bags so that she could wrap her arms around Jane's waist from behind. "Don't worry Jane, you're _my_ favourite."

"So you like me better than your turtle?"

"Tortoise. And yes. Marginally."

Jane huffed and turned back to her cooking. "What have you been buying?"

"Let me taste whatever smells so good and I'll show you."

Jane blew on a spoonful of the fiery red liquid and held it out for Maura to taste. She closed her eyes as she dragged her lips over the wooden spoon.

"Mmmmmm, delicious."

"You bet it is. Now, show and tell."

A kiss was pressed between Jane's shoulder blades and then she was released. Maura picked up her bags and placed them on the counter, reaching into one and drawing out a cocktail dress. It was fuchsia, with a cowl neck and a pencil skirt and capped sleeves. Jane rolled her eyes at herself; a couple of years ago she'd have said it was a pink dress. When she picked up these other terms was beyond her. Maura draped the garment against the front of her body and looked up at Jane.

"Do you like it?"

The dress itself did nothing for Jane. The thought of Maura _in_ the dress was another matter. Maura appreciated the craftsmanship in clothes, Jane appreciated how clothes looked on Maura. "You're gonna make that dress look _amazing_."

She was rewarded with a grin. "Thank you. It's a birthday gift from my parents."

Jane looked from the dress to the bag Maura had just taken it from. "But...I thought you just went shopping?"

"I did. I always buy myself a gift and charge it to my parents. It's easier that way; I get something that I like and that fits. We've done it that way for years."

_And your mother doesn't have to expend any energy thinking about what to get you._ Jane managed not to say what she was thinking, but the look on her face clearly indicated her distaste.

Maura moved closer to her and shrugged. "It's fine, sweetie. It doesn't bother me."

Having seen Maura and her mother interact, Jane _knew_ that on some level Maura longed for her mother to pay attention to her. She knew that Maura wanted her mother to _want_ to choose a present for her. But she'd never ask her to. Good thing Jane wasn't so bothered about asking for things. She smiled widely.

"You can wear it when I take you out on your birthday."

Maura's eyebrows went up.

"You're taking me out? Where are we going?"

Jane winked. "It's a surprise."

Maura watched Jane for a moment, before turning and putting her dress back into its bag. Then she walked over and put her hands on Jane's hips, turning the taller woman to face her.

"I don't care where we go on my birthday. As long as I get to spend it with you. Please don't feel like you have to take me someplace expens-"

"Babe, who said I was taking you someplace expensive? We're going to the McDonald's near the precinct."

Maura smiled and let her hands slip around to Jane's back, winding around her waist.

"You're kidding, I know that. But...seriously, Jane. I mean it when I say that all I want is to be with you. It doesn't matter where we are."

Jane cupped the back of Maura's head and pulled her into a soft kiss before hugging her close.

"Stop worrying. You're worrying about me worrying about your birthday. I'm not worried, so you don't need to be either. Okay?"

"Okay." The reply was slightly muffled against Jane's shoulder.

The importance of choosing just the right gift had just increased tenfold. Jane was not going to become a person who let Maura choose the present she wanted and buy it for herself. She kissed Maura's temple and willed herself to think of something that was perfect.

Nothing.

She still had time, though, so it was okay.

-

A week later, Frankie dropped into the chair by her desk. She finished typing an e-mail to Maura and pressed send before turning to Frankie. He didn't bother with preamble.

"I need your advice."

Jane leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head. She allowed herself a moment to preen that Frankie still came to her for her wise counsel, even though he was a detective himself these days. "Sure, little brother, what case?"

"No case. It's Maura."

Jane closed her eyes and resisted the urge to groan.

"Lemme guess, you need help with what to buy her for her birthday."

"Yeah." Frankie shifted in the chair, uncomfortably. "I mean, it's different from buying for you, because you're like a guy."

It was clear that Frankie did not think his comment was insulting, even though Jane was shooting daggers from her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

"But Maura's..._Maura_." He threw up his hands in a way that reminded Jane of their mother, almost frighteningly so. "And all the things I can think to get her are like things you'd get for someone you're dating...like flowers, or candy and I...don't want her to think I have a crush on her or something. And you never had anybody serious before and..."

"Woah! Way to make me sound like I'm a freak!" Though Jane couldn't dispute her chequered dating history, she didn't particularly like it to be broadcast. "It's not like I've had to buy gifts for your multitude of girlfriends."

"You did for Teresa."

Just the sound of her name made Jane's nose wrinkle in distaste. But Frankie had just ruined his case. "_Exactly_. I didn't even _like_ her and I still managed to pick a gift that was personal and thoughtful without whining to you about giving me ideas."

"You got her perfume. That she was allergic to."

The sound of an e-mail arriving gave Jane the opportunity to turn away from Frankie before replying. "That wasn't my fault." She scanned over the content of the e-mail and smiled. Maura could make her do that with very little effort.

"She said she tol-"

She quickly interrupted him. "I don't see what this has to do with Maura."

"Janie! Are you gonna help me with this or not? I need something that says _'Hey, we're kinda family and I'm happy that you're dating my sister. Oh, and thank you for saving my life that one time.'_"

Jane smiled at Frankie's description. Maura had far more impact on people's lives than she was aware of. "That's...kinda specific. I don't think they make a card for that."

"No kidding." Frankie slumped down in the chair, covering his face with his hands.

"Just...get her something from the heart. Honestly, she'll be happy with anything you get for her, I promise."

"Yeah...I guess." Frankie stood and leaned in to kiss Jane's cheek. "See ya, sis.

"Be safe."

She watched Frankie leave and felt panic bubble up in her chest. She was still no closer to thinking of a gift for Maura, and her birthday was looming now. She had a little over a week to come up with an absolutely perfect gift, and to arrange a wonderful evening. She was running out of time. Making a decision, she pushed her seat back and grabbed her jacket.

"Frost, I'm going out for a while. You know how to get me if you need me."

"Sure thing, partner."

She was already dialling Maura's cell as she walked out of the precinct.

"Hey."

"Hi, listen, I have to go out for a little bit. I'll pick up lunch for us and meet you in your office, okay?"

"Sounds good. Oh, but Jane, I'm wearing a silk blouse today so please try to keep the grease content to a minimum."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes affectionately. "No grease, roger that, Dr Isles. I'll see you soon."

"You will. I love you."

"Love you too."

-

If anything, shopping was making Jane _more_ nervous. She'd bought some silly little gifts; things that would make Maura smile. But nothing that was enough to show Maura how Jane felt about her. Laughing softly, Jane doubted such a thing existed. She was browsing through some silk scarves when her phone started to ring. Her stomach dropped, as it always did when she heard Tommy's ringtone.

"Hey Tom, what's up?" She had stopped answering with _'What have you done now?'_ after one too many lectures from Maura and her mother.

"Janie...Ma says Maura's birthday is next week and I gotta get her a present. What should I get?"

"Jesus, Tommy, how should I know?" She bit her cheek after the near yell had escaped. It wasn't Tommy's fault that she had no idea what to get her girlfriend for her birthday.

For his part, Tommy seemed unperturbed by Jane's angry tone. "Well, hasn't she asked for stuff?"

"Maura doesn't ask for stuff, Tommy. The only thing she wants is..." Jane trailed off, inspiration finally hitting her.

"Is what? I'm thinkin' something around twenty bucks 'cause I'm not made of money."

"Is..." _Me_. The only thing Maura had asked for for her birthday was to be with Jane. She said being with Jane would make her happy. Jane knew what she could do.

She was lost in her own thoughts when Tommy's voice broke through after what must have been a whole minute of silence. "Thanks, Jane. You've been real helpful."

She'd almost forgotten he was still on the line. "Sorry, Tom. Just get her something that shows you put some thought into it, okay?"

Hurriedly saying her goodbyes, she hung up and started scrolling through her phone while she barrelled out of the store.

"Ma? I need your help."

-

Jane looked up from her magazine when Maura entered the bedroom after attending to her nightly grooming routine. She smiled as the other woman shed her robe and climbed into bed, immediately attaching herself to Jane's side and kissing her shoulder.

"You're almost out of toothpaste."

"Ah, yeah, I haven't been by the store in a while." More often than not, they stayed at Maura's, but occasionally, usually when Jane needed a little distance from her mother, they stayed at Jane's apartment.

"I'll pick some up tomorrow." Maura rested her head on Jane's shoulder.

"'Kay." Jane shifted a little to make them both more comfortable and then returned her attention to her magazine.

"Your mother was acting strangely towards me today."

"My mother _is_ strange, honey. You should know this by now."

"Jane." Maura's scolding tone was negated by the huge yawn that overtook her as she spoke. Jane took the hint and put her magazine down, reaching over to turn off the lamp and then settling down with her arms wrapped around Maura.

"So, what was my mother doing that was noticeably strange today?"

She felt Maura sigh against her chest.

"She kept..._looking_ at me."

"As behaviour goes, that's not all that strange. _Especially_ for Ma."

"Yes but...it was as if she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't. Or wouldn't."

Jane rolled her eyes into the darkness. Her mother was awful at keeping secrets. Including her in the preparations for Maura's surprise was a risky, but necessary strategy. She shrugged.

"You know what she's like. She probably thinks that Stanley is running a still in the pantry and selling moonshine to the Dirty Robber. You know how she loves to invent drama."

They both knew she was referring to her mother's antics during a visit from Maura's old boyfriend. Determined to ensure that Ian did not come between her daughter and the best thing that had ever happened to her, Angela had taken it upon herself to expose him as a criminal mastermind. The whole episode had been a little embarrassing and wholly unnecessary, but ultimately Maura had been touched by Angela's efforts at protecting their relationship. So had Jane, though she'd never admit it.

"Maybe. Or maybe she's excited about my surprise party?"

Jane bit her lip to keep from laughing. She'd kind of hoped that Maura would suspect something. It would keep her from uncovering the _real_surprises Jane had planned.

"Who says you're getting a surprise party? I told you, McDonald's."

Soft lips pressed against her sternum.

"Your mother could never play poker. And Frankie is almost as bad at lying as I am."

That was true. While Jane and Tommy could both spin a believable yarn when required, Frankie had always been the weak link in the chain when they were growing up. All her mother had to do was look at him and he'd spill his guts. Though it had been frustrating when they were kids, Jane admired her brother's honesty. She made a show of sighing.

"Yeah, well, now that my useless family have spoiled it..._maybe_ something _might_ be happening of the surprise variety."

Maura turned and propped her chin up on Jane's chest. There was just enough moonlight for Jane to pick out her features. She was smiling.

"I've never had a surprise party before. Or...any kind of birthday party. Nothing is spoiled, Jane. Absolutely nothing."

Thinking back to her own birthday parties, mostly involving a roomful of screaming children and then barfing from too much cake, Jane couldn't help the anger that threatened to surface that Maura had never had this attention paid to her before. But she forced herself to relax. She rubbed her hands up and down Maura's back, underneath the t-shirt she was wearing.

"Well, you know there are rules about birthday parties, right?"

"Rules? No, I didn't know that." Maura was playing along with a grin. "You know how I like to observe etiquette, so you'll have to share these rules with me."

"Rule number one: if the party is meant to be a surprise, you have to act surprised. Even if you know about it."

"I may have to work on that." Maura's fingers were rubbing circles on Jane's shoulder.

"I imagine you will. We'll practise. I'll randomly yell 'surprise' at you and you can perfect your surprised face."

"Sounds fun." She shifted closer to Jane, bringing their torsos into closer contact. "What are the other rules?"

"Rule number two: there will be cake, probably with your name on it. But you are expected to share it with other people. Sucks, I know, but that's the rule."

Maura chuckled, the vibration moving through Jane's chest and settling low in her stomach.

"Share the cake, got it. Anything else?" Maura's hand was now dancing up and down Jane's side, skimming over her scar tissue, making Jane's breath hitch.

"Rule number three, and this is the most important one...it's your party, just have fun."

Leaning in, Maura met Jane in a gentle kiss. "I don't think that will be a problem. As long as you're there."

Jane's fingers slid down Maura's back and dipped underneath the waistband of her underwear, scratching lightly at her skin.

"I'll be there, you can count on that. Oh, and Maura?" Without warning, Jane moved her hand so that it was in between Maura's legs, prompting a shocked squeal from her partner. "Surprise!"

-

Maura's birthday finally arrived. After a _very_ enjoyable breakfast in bed, they'd headed to work. All morning, Jane's phone had been going off as Maura discovered the little presents she'd hidden around the morgue and her office. Already she'd called squealing in delight over an anatomically correct heart-shaped stress reliever, a framed photograph of the two of them watching fireworks go off at New Years and a stuffed toy tortoise.

She smiled as, once again, 'My girl' starting blaring out of her phone. She shot Frost the obligatory glare for messing with her ringtones, and picked up.

"Hey."

"I love you."

"Ah, you _love_ me...so I guess that means you found the fudge clusters?"

"I did." She could picture Maura holding the candy against her chest as she spoke. "And you even ventured into the 'dead fridge' to hide them for me. You're wonderful."

Jane was particularly proud of herself for sucking it up enough to place Maura's gift in the fridge where she kept parts of dead people. The fact that she'd had to chant 'cold air is cold air' to herself the entire time was neither here nor there, and no-one had to know about it. "Yeah, I kinda am."

"I know you're being self-deprecating right now, but I'm not exaggerating. You are full of wonders. You fill _me_ with wonder every single day."

Jane turned away from the prying eyes of her colleagues to hide the blush that had crept up her neck. She coughed a little to cover her embarrassment.

"Well...ditto, sweetheart."

"I...Jane, I can't even tell you how much it means to me that you've done this."

Jane wanted to simultaneously laugh and cry. The things she'd given Maura were silly and insignificant. Yet she knew they were probably the most thoughtful gifts Maura had ever received in terms of the effort that had gone into them.

"Hey, this is only the beginning. You have a whole day and night ahead of you to get sappy, so pace yourself."

A light sniffle came through the phone. "You're right. I'm really looking forward to spending this evening with you...whatever it is we're going to be getting up to."

"Uh huh, so you should be. I promised you the best birthday ever and I plan to deliver."

"You already have."

Again, Jane's throat closed up. "Maur..."

"Come down here. I feel the need for another birthday kiss."

Jane closed her eyes and smiled. "Your wish is my command, birthday girl."

-

That evening, Jane was examining herself in the mirror in Maura's bedroom. She had opted for a tailored suit, rather than a dress, and she had to admit that Maura was right; it really was all about the fit. She looked pretty damn good. Even her hair was relatively calm.

"Jane, can you come in here?" Maura called from the bathroom.

"Sure thing, be there in a sec."

Stepping into her shoes on the way, Jane headed into the bathroom and stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of Maura. She was wearing the dress she had purchased as a gift from her parents. It was unzipped at the back, revealing her bra and a hint of her panties, both fuchsia to match the dress. Maura gathered her hair up in her hand and looked at Jane over her shoulder with a coy smile.

"Zip me up?"

A smile tugged at Jane's lips which was dangerously close to a leer. "You know I want to do the exact opposite of that, right?" She walked up behind Maura, the heels she was wearing accentuating the difference in their heights as Maura was barefoot, and caught her eyes in the mirror. She lowered her lips to Maura's exposed neck, even as she easily pulled the zipper up. Smoothing her hands over Maura's hips, she looked up into the mirror again.

"You are so very beautiful."

Maura dropped her hair back down and raised a hand up to cup Jane's cheek, bringing their faces close together as they gazed into the mirror.

"Well, that makes two of us."

Turning to press a kiss against Maura's cheek, Jane sighed. "As much as I would love to stand and stare at you all night, I, uh...I promised Ma that we'd, uh, drop in before we head out...so she can give you your birthday present."

Maura giggled and turned in Jane's arms, letting her hands drift over the crisp front of Jane's shirt and jacket.

"Well, we had better hurry. We don't want to be late for...your mother." Her eyes were sparkling at the ruse that they were both keeping up.

-

The guesthouse was in darkness as they approached, Maura slipped her hand into Jane's and Jane could feel her shaking. She tugged on Maura's arm until she stopped walking.

"Are you okay with this?" The last thing on earth Jane wanted was for Maura to feel uncomfortable.

Inhaling deeply, Maura fixed her with a smile. "I am. I truly am. It's just...new. I'll be fine if you're holding my hand." She squeezed Jane's fingers.

"Okay, then let's do this."

Pushing open the door, Jane kept a tight hold of Maura's hand as they made their way into the dark room.

"Ma? You here?"

Someone flicked a light on, illuminating the space.

"Surprise!"

Jane looked over at Maura, and found that no acting was required, which was what she'd hoped for. The room was full of people. She was sure that Maura had expected it to be Jane's family and maybe Frost and Korsak. But pretty much every detective in homicide, as well as a number of the cops were there, and so were all of Maura's lab assistants and technicians. And Maura hadn't even noticed the best part yet.

Maura was clinging to her arm, one hand over her heart as she took in all of the smiling faces.

"I...my goodness! I...can't...I'm so..."

"Surprised, Maur?" Jane's smile leaked into her voice.

"We got you?" Angela asked, bustling over and pulling Maura into a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad. Frankie's terrible at keeping secrets and I thought for sure he'd have given us away!"

"Hey!" Frankie protested.

Releasing Maura, Angela glanced over into the corner of the room and winked. Jane turned just in time to see Constance Isles make her way forward.

"Happy Birthday, darling!"

At the sound of her mother's voice, Maura's head spun around.

"M...mother?"

Jane willed herself not to cry when Maura's eyes came to rest on her. They were filled with so many emotions that Jane couldn't begin to name them. She watched as Maura's mother embraced her politely. She decided to get the focus away from Maura before it became too daunting.

"Frankie, I thought you were in charge of music? Let's get the party started!"

With the music, a low hum started up as people fell into conversation. Jane watched as Maura's mother pretended to cough, allowing her a moment to wipe at her eyes as they exchanged greetings and pleasantries. Maura looked over and caught Jane watching her. She touched her mother's arm and gestured to Jane.

Jane smiled as Maura walked back to her, shaking her head.

"How..."

Jane shrugged. "I wanted to surprise you." She favoured Constance with a glance, offering her a conspiratorial wink. "I told your mother this was one social event she really didn't want to miss, and she agreed."

Suddenly, Jane was the one on the receiving end of a surprise as Maura grabbed her face and crashed their lips together, causing the crowd to whoop and yell their approval. Maura pulled back, ignoring the racket around them, all of her attention focussed on Jane.

"You...I...all of this. I love you, Jane Rizzoli."

Still recovering from the unexpected kiss, Jane managed something resembling a cocky grin.

"That works out pretty well, because I love you too." She bumped Maura's forehead with her own, lowering her voice. "Now, you remember those rules I told you about? Go do number three."

Maura's fingers tangled with her own. "You're here. So I already am."

Jane kissed Maura's nose. "Sap. Let's have cake."

-

After hours of laughing and gifts and crying and cake, Jane and Maura finally stepped out to make the short walk back to the main house. Some of the guests had left, but most were carrying on the party. Jane was slightly worried about the fact that her mother and Constance had been deep in conversation for most of the evening. God only knew what they had been saying to each other.

Jane lifted her face to the sky and closed her eyes, enjoying the cool air after the crowded room. Maura wrapped both of her arms around one of Jane's leaning on her as they sauntered across the yard. Neither of them had consumed much alcohol, but Jane felt pleasantly at ease with the world.

"Thank you."

The words startled her out of her head and she turned to brush her lips across Maura's forehead.

"You're welcome."

Jane opened the door to the house and they stepped inside. Maura put her hands on Jane's forearms, preventing her from moving further into the house. Jane raised her eyebrows in an unasked question.

"I'm not just talking about tonight. Thank you for...for being in my life."

"Awww, Maur!" Jane scowled, playfully. "Don't make me cry again. It's bad for my badass image."

Unperturbed by Jane's complaints, Maura continued to smile up at her. "Let's get married."

Jane froze.

"Huh?"

Maura frowned. "Not the answer I'd hoped for..."

"No, I...Maura..."

"Is it because I didn't kneel down? I know that's traditional but I was caught up in the moment and I can do it again if yo-"

Jane could see Maura was going into panic mode, so she cut her off with a deep kiss. Pulling away, she ran a hand down Maura's arm until they were holding hands and dragged her to the fireplace. She wrapped an arm around Maura's waist and turned so that they were facing the mantle.

"See that?" She pointed at a completely out of place, tacky, pewter figure of an elephant. Maura had insisted on buying it during their first date and it had enjoyed pride of place amongst the expensive art ever since. But it bore an addition that had never been there before. A diamond ring dangled from its trunk.

Maura's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh...Jane." The words were barely more than a breath. "I'm so sorry! You...you should have..."

"I should have what?" Jane asked, a laugh colouring her words. "I should have told you that I planned to propose tonight so that you wouldn't do it first?"

"Well, no...but...oh, Jane. So this means..."

Taking Maura's hand in her own, Jane removed the ring from the elephant's trunk and slowly went down on one knee.

"Yep, this means...that I'm a lot less nervous about asking this question now." She winked, but then grew serious. "Maura Isles you are, without doubt, the most amazing, wonderful person I've ever known...and also the goofiest." This drew a sobbing laugh from Maura and Jane swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, yes, I'll marry you...on one condition."

Maura paused midway through wiping one of the tears that was running down her cheek. She tilted her head. "Condition?"

"Yeah..." Jane allowed herself a full grin. "On the condition that you marry me too."

Shaking her head with an affectionate smile, Maura held out her left hand. "I can think of nothing I would rather do than marry you, Jane."

Jane let out a breath she'd apparently been holding as she slid the ring onto Maura's waiting finger. Then, unable to help herself, she sprung to her feet and raised both arms in the air. "Yes!"

Maura laughed and wiped her eyes before being gathered into Jane's arms and kissed to the point of breathlessness. They reluctantly parted, but stayed close, Maura nuzzling into Jane's neck.

"You were right." The words were muffled against her skin.

"'Bout what?" Jane asked, dipping her head so that her nose brushed Maura's.

"This _is_ the best birthday ever."

Laughing gently, Jane nodded. "Yeah...but how the _hell_ am I gonna top it next year?"

Maura tilted her head back to look up at Jane. "You'll think of something, I'm sure. But right now, I think we need to celebrate."

Jane allowed herself to be tugged into the kitchen, where Maura ducked into the fridge and came out with a bottle of champagne. Jane's eyes went wide.

"Oh, hey! That's the good stuff! The hundred bucks a glass stuff!"

"I know you like it. And I think the occasion merits it, don't you?" Maura had already expertly removed the cork with a soft pop and was pouring the liquid into two glasses. "I bought this for us to enjoy together tonight for my birthday. I hadn't planned to ask my...uh, little question earlier." Maura blushed and Jane grinned.

"Yeah, talk about stealing a girl's thunder!" She accepted one of the glasses from Maura.

Maura leaned against the counter, absently fingering the pearls around her neck, obviously thinking. "I...was going to say I was sorry, but I'm not. I think it was lovely that we're both at the same place in our relationship. And I think it fits us perfectly that our engagement was slightly...non-traditional."

"Really? You don't think we're the epitome of a traditional American couple? Tradition be damned." Jane clinked her glass against Maura's. "I think we're way more interesting. Who else gets to fight crime together by day and then come home to a dog and a turtle and be gay married by night?"

"Tortoise. And we'll be gay mar-..." Maura stopped and rolled her eyes at her use of Jane's terminology. "_Married_ by day too, you know."

"We will? Gee, I thought it was a part-time thing..." She leaned in and kissed Maura's pout away. She held up her glass. "To us."

"To us." Maura echoed, tapping her glass against Jane's and then taking a sip. Jane did likewise, her eyes closing at the taste of the champagne.

"Jesus, that's as good as I remember."

"Mmhmm." Maura took another sip. "I had a thought..."

"Just one?" Jane asked, draining her glass.

"Yes, I thought you might enjoy drinking your champagne from my navel?"

Jane barely managed to keep hold of the expensive champagne flute in her hand. Maura, for her part, was all innocence; waiting patiently for Jane's reply.

"From your na-...yes. Yes, I think I would like that a lot."

"I thought so." Maura took Jane's glass from her and placed it on the counter along with her own. "But first...I still have one present to unwrap..."

Her mind still a little foggy from the mental images Maura had evoked, Jane's brow creased in confusion.

"I thought you op-" Maura stepped right up to her and starting unbuttoning her shirt. "Oh...yeah, _that_ present."

Jane's shirt was all the way open and Maura's hands were roaming over her torso. With a firm kiss to Jane's lips, she stood back and appraised her. "I think I'll finish unwrapping you in the bedroom..." Maura started to walk in that very direction, casting a suggestive glance over her shoulder. "Don't forget the champagne. And leave the glasses here."

Jane watched her go, her smile growing with every step. Oh yeah, it was gonna be a bitch trying to top this birthday. But it would be fun to try.


End file.
